*      NOV    2  1911      *! 


Divisioa  :B5  49  I 

.E58 


Section 


18 


THE  BIBLE  FOR  HOME  AND  SCHOOL 

SHAILER   MATHEWS,  General  Editor 

PROFESSOR   OF   HISTORICAL   AND   COMPARATIVE   THEOLOGY 
THE   UNIVERSITY    OF   CHICAGO 


THE    BOOK   OF   JOB 
GEORGE   A.   BARTON 


THE  BIBLE    FOR 

HOME    AND    SCHOOL 

SHAILER   MATHEWS,  General  Editor 

GENESIS 

By  Professor  H. 

G.  Mitchell 

DEUTERONOMY 
By  Professor  W 

G.  Jordan 

JOB 

By  Professor  George  A.  Barton 

ISAIAH 

By  Professor  John  E.  McFadyen 

MATTHEW 

By  Professor  A. 

T.  Robertson 

ACTS 

By  Professor  George  H.  Gilbert 

GALATIANS 

By  Professor  B. 

W.  Bacon 

EPHESIANS  AND   COLOSSIANS 
By  Reverend  Gross  Alexander 

HEBREWS 

By  Professor  E. 

J.  Goodspf.f.d 

VOLUMES  IN  PREPARATION 
JUDGES 

By  Professor  Edward  L.  Curtis 

I   SAMUEL 

By  Professor  L. 

W.  Batten 

PSAEMS 

By  Reverend  J. 

P.  Peters 

AMOS,    HOSEA,   AND   MICAH 
By  Professor  J.  M.  P.  Smith 

MARK 

By  Professor  M 

W.  Jacobus 

JOHN 

By  Professor  Shailer  Mathews 

ROMANS 

By  Professor  E. 

I.  Bosworth 

I   AND   II   CORINTHIANS 
By  Professor  J.  S.  Riggs 

THE  BIBLE  FOR  HOME  AND   SCHOOL 


commentary'  NOV  71911  ' 


^LOSWM  «>i^^ 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


BY 

GEORGE    a/^BARTON,  Ph.D. 

PROFESSOR    OF   BIBLICAL   LITERATURE   AND    SEMITIC 
LANGUAGES    IN   BRYN   MAWR   COLLEGE 


THE   MACMILLAN    COMPANY 
1911 

All  rights  reserved 


Copyright,  1911, 
By  the  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.     Published  September^  1911. 


The  references  in  the  foot-notes  marked  "  SV  "  are  to  the  American  Standard 
Edition  of  the  Revised  Bible.     Copyright,  1901,  by  Thomas  Nelson  &  Sons. 

By  permission  of  the  Publishers. 


NorijjooU  53«3g 

J.  S.  Gushing  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith  Co. 

Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


MY    HONORED   TEACHER 

CRAWFORD    HOWELL   TOY 


GENERAL    INTRODUCTION 

The  Bible  for  Home  and  School  is  intended  to  place 
the  results  of  the  best  modern  biblical  scholarship  at  the 
disposal  of  the  general  reader.  It  does  not  seek  to  dupli- 
cate other  commentaries  to  which  the  student  must  turn. 
Its  chief  characteristics  are  (a)  its  rigid  exclusion  of  all 
processes^  both  critical  and  exegetical,  from  its  notes ; 
ip)  its  presupposition  and  its  use  of  the  assured  results 
of  historical  investigation  and  criticism  wherever  such 
results  throw  light  on  the  biblical  text;  (c)  its  running 
analysis  both  in  text  and  comment;  {d)  its  brief  explana- 
tory notes  adapted  to  the  rapid  reader ;  {e)  its  thorough 
but  brief  Introductions  ;  (/)  its  use  of  the  Revised  Version 
of  1 88 1,  supplemented  with  all  important  renderings  in 
other  versions. 

Biblical  science  has  progressed  rapidly  during  the  past 
few  years,  but  the  reader  still  lacks  a  brief,  comprehensive 
commentary  that  shall  extend  to  him  in  usable  form  mate- 
rial now  at  the  disposition  of  the  student.  It  is  hoped 
that  in  this  series  the  needs  of  intelligent  Sunday  School 
teachers  have  been  met,  as  well  as  those  of  clergymen 
and  lay  readers,  and  that  in  scope,  purpose,  and  loyalty 
to  the  Scriptures  as  a  foundation  of  Christian  thought  and 
life,  its  volumes  will  stimulate  the  intelligent  use  of  the 
Bible  in  the  home  and  the  school. 


vii 


CONTENTS 


I.    Introduction 

1.  General  Analysis  of  the  Book 

2.  The  Story  and  the  Poem  of  Job,  by  Different  Authors 

3.  The  Original  Home  of  the  Story  of  the  Prologue  and 

Epilogue 

4.  The  Problem  of  the  Poem  and  its  Treatment 

5.  Portrayal  of  the  Growth  of  a  Soul  in  Suffering 

6.  The  Poet's  Solution  of  the  Problem  of  Sufferin 

7.  The  Text  of  Job 

8.  The  Integrity  of  the  Book  . 


9. 
10. 
II. 
12. 

13- 
14. 


The  Omissions  of  the  Septuagint     . 
The  Elihu  Speeches 

(a)    These  Speeches  Interpolated 
(d)    The  Work  of  Two  Writers    . 
Other  Interpolations 

(a)    The  Praise  of  Wisdom  (ch.  28) 
(<5)    The     Description     of    Behemoth 
Leviathan  (40:  1 5-4 1  :  34) 
Editorial  Work  in  Other  Parts  of  the 
(chs.  24-30) 
The  Art  of  the  Book  . 
The  Date  of  the  Poem 
The  Author         .... 
Detailed  Analysis  of  the  Argument 
Selected  Bibliography 
The  More  Important  Abbreviations 


(I) 
(2) 


(3) 


(4) 


II.  Commentary 
Index  . 


and 


Poem 


PAGE 

I 


3 

7 

9 

12 

13 
19 
19 
22 
22 
27 
30 
30 


32 
37 
39 

45 
46 

53 
54 

55 
318 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 

GEORGE  A.  BARTON 


INTRODUCTION 

The  book  of  Job  belongs  to  the  ''Wisdom"  literature 
of  the  Hebrews.  Other  books  belonging  to  this  class  of 
writings  are  Proverbs,  Ecclesiastes,  among  canonical  books ; 
Ecclesiasticus  (or  the  Wisdom  of  the  Son  of  Sirach)  and 
the  Wisdom  of  Solomon,  among  Old  Testament  Apocrypha. 
Of  all  these  books  Job  is  the  greatest  both  in  religious  depth 
and  in  literary  power.  The  "Wisdom"  Uterature  was 
produced  by  Israel's  sages.  In  their  way  they  made  a 
contribution  to  Israel's  religious  thought  as  important  as 
that  of  priests  or  prophets. 

General  Analysts  of  the  Book 

As  the  text  of  the  Book  of  Job  stands  it  falls  into  the 
following  divisions: 

1.  The  Prologue;    chs.  i,  2.     This  is  in  prose. 

2.  Job's  Wail  of  Despair;   ch.  3. 

3.  The  great  Debate  between  Job  and  his  Friends  on 
Suffering;    chs.  4-31.     Chs.  3-31  are  in  poetry. 

4.  The  Elihu  Speeches.  Chs.  32-37.  Of  these  32 :  i-6a 
are  in  prose  and  the  rest  in  poetry. 

5.  Jehovah's  Address  and  the  final  Colloquy  between 
Jehovah  and  Job ;   38  :  1-42  :  6,  in  poetry. 

6.  The  Epilogue;   42:7-17,  in  prose. 

The  Story  of  Job  and  the  Poem  by  Different  Authors 

It  requires  no  very  profound  study  of  Job  to  convince 
one  that  the  prologue  and  epilogue  are  not  the  work  of 
the  poet  who  wrote  the  bulk  of  the  book,  but  that  they 
belong  to  an  old  folk  tale  which  he  found  already  in  cir- 


INTRODUCTION 


culation  and  which  he  selected  to  form  the  plot  of  his  poem. 
The  reasons  for  this  conclusion  are :  (i)  The  prologue  and 
epilogue  are  in  prose,  while  the  body  of  the  work  is  in 
poetry.  (2)  In  the  prologue  and  epilogue  the  divine  name 
used  is  Jehovah,  while  in  the  rest  of  the  work  it  is  El, 
Eloah,  and  Shaddai,  as  if  Jehovah  had  been  purposely 
avoided.  Once  or  twice  only  the  author  has  used  Jehovah, 
apparently  by  slip  of  memory.  (3)  The  Job  of  the  pro- 
logue differs  fundamentally  from  the  Job  of  the  poem. 
He  is  patient,  submissive,  and  resigned ;  the  latter  is  im- 
patient, bitter,  and  defiant.  (4)  The  words  attributed 
to  Jehovah  in  42 :  7  are  incompatible  with  the  present 
discussion  which  precedes  them.  They  imply  that 
Eliphaz  and  his  friends  had  spoken  in  the  strain  of  Job's 
wife  in  2  :  9  and  that  Job  had  maintained  throughout 
the  attitude  described  in  1:21  and  2  :  10.  (5)  The  dis- 
cussion of  the  poem  moves  in  the  realm  of  spiritual  re- 
Ugion  and  ethical  endeavor  only.  Even  Job's  friends, 
who  represent  the  orthodox  theology  of  the  day,  never 
suggest  that  Job  should  offer  sacrifices  to  atone  for  his 
sins;  Job  in  the  moment  of  his  repentance  never  thinks 
of  such  a  thing.  Right  doing  and  a  right  attitude  of  soul 
toward  God  are  in  the  poem  all  that  is  necessary  for  rec- 
onciHation  to  God.  This  is  the  point  of  view  of  the  great 
prophets  and  of  the  greatest  psalmists,  such  as  the  authors 
of  Psalms  50  and  51.  The  prologue  and  epilogue,  on  the 
other  hand,  represent  the  old  popular,  unspiritual  ritualistic 
side  of  religion  in  which  animal  sacrifices  formed  a  prom- 
inent feature.  (6)  The  epilogue  rewards  Job  with  a 
double  measure  of  earthly  blessings,  implying  that  such 
blessings  are  the  ultimate  rewards  of  virtue  —  a  doctrine 
which  the  poem  has  vigorously  combated.  We  conclude, 
therefore,  that  the  prologue  and  epilogue  belonged  to  an 
old  folk  tale  and  that  there  once  stood  between  them  a 
description  of  Job's  demeanor  under  suffering  different 
from  that  which  we  now  find  there  —  a  description  which 
also  portrayed  the  three  friends  in  a  different  way. 


INTRODUCTION 


Some  confirmation  of  this  view  exists  in  outside  sources. 
Ezekiel  14  :  14  quotes  Job,  as  he  does  Noah  and  Daniel 
(probably  Enoch  originally  stood  where  Daniel  now  stands), 
as  examples  of  men  who  had  been  righteous  and  exemplary 
under  trial.  The  Job  of  our  poem  was  certainly  not 
always  exemplary,  and  it  is  most  probable  that  Ezekiel 
knew  a  different  form  of  the  story.  The  author  of  the 
Epistle  of  James  (Jas.  5  :  11),  says,  "Ye  have  heard  of  the 
patience  of  Job."  The  Job  of  our  poem  was  anything 
but  patient,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  New  Testament 
writer  had  in  mind  the  same  form  of  the  story  as  Ezekiel. 
Theodore  of  Mopsuestia,  who  died  about  428  a.d.,  bears 
witness  (cf.  Migne,  LXVI,  cols.  697,  698)  to  the  existence 
in  his  time  of  a  story  of  Job  as  a  holy  and  great  prophet, 
and  Theodore  charges  the  author  of  Job  with  having  taken 
undue  Hberties  with  the  story.  Mohammed  in  the  Coran 
(Suras  21 :  83,  84  and  38 :  40-44)  alludes  to  Job  as  to  a 
holy  man  who  was  especially  favored  by  God  —  ap- 
parently having  in  mind  this  story;  and  a  long  Arabic 
story  about  Job  in  Ath-Thalabi's  (ched  1035,  1036)  Stories 
of  the  Prophets  exhibits  a  curious  blending  of  strands  from 
this  old  popular  story  and  our  canonical  Job.  A  transla- 
tion by  Professor  Macdonald  of  this  story  may  be  found 
in  the  American  Journal  of  Semitic  Languages,  XIV,  145- 
161.  The  conclusion  reached  by  a  study  of  the  internal 
evidence  is  thus  confirmed  by  external  testimony.  This 
story  the  poet  took  and,  substituting  his  own  poetic  and 
powerful  treatment  of  the  problem  of  suffering  for  the 
older  picture,  gave  us  the  work  which  we  now  have. 

The  Original  Home  of  the  Story  of  the  Prologue  and 
Epilogue 

In  the  library  of  Assurbanipal,  king  of  Assyria  from 
668  to  626  B.C.,  a  text  has  been  preserved  of  a  story  strik- 
ingly parallel  to  the  story  of  Job.  It  was,  as  the  colophon 
to  the  tablet  tells  us,  the  second  tablet  of  a  series  entitled 

3 


INTRODUCTION 


*'I  will  praise  the  lord  of  wisdom."  Like  our  book  of  Job, 
it  belonged,  therefore,  to  a  "wisdom"  literature.  It  is 
clearly  a  copy  of  a  story  older  than  the  time  of  Assurbanipal, 
for  part  of  an  older  hst  of  kings  also  found  in  his  library 
constitutes  a  commentary  upon  a  part  of  it. 

According  to  this  story,  a  high  official  or  king,  of  the 
Babylonian  city  of  Nippur,  named  Tabi-utul-Bel  (a  man 
whose  date  and  place  in  history  are  as  yet  unknown  to  us), 
had  been  very  god-fearing  and  prosperous,  but  was  smitten, 
as  though  he  had  been  a  wicked  man,  with  a  terrible  disease, 
which  all  the  priests  and  magicians  were  unable  to  assuage. 
This  disaster  occurred  after  he  had  passed  the  allotted 
time  of  hfe.  The  poem  describes  the  sufferings  very 
vividly.     Tabi-utul-Bel  says: 

"An  evil  demon  has  taken  hold  upon  me  (?) ; 
From  yellowish  the  sickness  became  white, 
It  threw  me  on  the  ground  and  stretched  me  on  my  back, 
It  bent  my  high  stature  like  a  poplar." 

******* 

"A  strap  of  many  twists  held  me  fast, 
A  sharply  pointed  spear  pierced  me." 

******* 

"I  was  saturated  like  a  sheep  in  my  excrements." 

Like  Job  the  sufferer  found  in  his  affliction  a  testing 
of  the  ways  of  his  god,  for  he  declares : 

"The  plan  of  a  god  is  full  of  mystery  ( ?)  —who  can  imderstand  it  ?  " 

If  the  reader  will  compare  with  these  extracts  the  pas- 
sages from  Job  collected  in  the  note  on  2  :  7,  he  will  find  the 
likeness  very  striking. 

The  tablets  are  unfortunately  broken.  A  fragmentary 
text  at  Constantinople,  recently  pubhshed  by  R.  Campbell 
Thompson  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical 
ArchcBology,  Vol.  XXXII  (1910),  pp.  18-24,  contained  the 
turning-point  of  the  story.  Unhappily  the  text  of  this 
is  much  broken,  but  it  would  seem  from  what  can  be  made 
out  that  the  fortunes  of  Tabi-utul-Bel  were  restored,  not 


INTRODUCTION 


because  he  maintained  an  ideal  attitude  towards  his  god, 
but  because  he  found  at  last  a  messenger  who  laid  his  case 
before  Bel  and  succeeded  in  moving  that  god  to  drive 
away  the  demons  who  were  tormenting  the  royal  sufferer. 
If  this  is  the  case,  the  parallel  to  Job  is  not  so  close  as  at 
first  sight  appears.  The  Babylonian  story  represents  an 
earlier  phase  of  thought,  when  the  proper  form  of  magical 
intercession  with  the  gods  was  more  prominent  than  the 
ethical  and  religious  attitude  of  the  worshipper.^ 

Has  this  Babylonian  story  any  connection  with  the 
story  of  Job  ?  In  reply,  it  must  be  said  that  it  has  no 
Hterary  connection  with  it.  The  name  of  the  royal 
sufferer  was  not  only  quite  different  from  the  name  of  Job, 
but  the  name  of  his  city  Nippur  was  entirely  lost.  More- 
over, in  the  earliest  form  of  the  story  which  we  can  trace. 
Job  was  not  a  king.  The  story  of  Job  probably  came  to 
the  Hebrews  from  a  foreign  source,  for  the  name  Job  has 
no  etymology  in  Hebrew;  but  it  came  orally  and  was  at- 
tached to  Hebrew  locahties  and  given  a  Palestinian  setting. 
Stories  travel  thus  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  Old  Harvard 
students  tell  of  the  late  Professor  Andrew  P.  Peabody  the 
same  stories  which  were  formerly  told  in  Germany  of  Pro- 
fessor Neander.  So  the  story  of  Job  came  into  Palestine 
possibly  from  Babylonia  and  found  a  habitation  in  Bashan. 

Modern  explorers  in  the  country  to  the  east  of  the  Sea 
of  Galilee  find  the  name  Uz  to  the  south  of  the  modern 
Nawa  and  to  the  northeast  of  Tell  Ashtara,  the  site  of  the 
Ashtoreth  Karnaim  of  Genesis  14 :  5.  A  number  of  neigh- 
boring places  have  been  named  for  Job  (see  note  on  i :  i). 
In  this  region,  too,  within  a  day's  journey,  or  at  the  most 
two  days'  journey,  are  the  villages  of  Tema  and  Naemeh, 
the  cities  with  which  the  story  probably  connected  Eliphaz 

1  See  Jastrow's  article  on  the  poem  with  copious  translations  in  the  Journal  of 
Biblical  Literature,  XXV,  135-191.  Translations  of  it  into  German  are  found  in 
Jastrow's  Religion  Babylonians  und  Assyrians,  II,  120-133,  and  in  Zimmern's  Baby- 
lonische  Hymnen  und  Gebete,  Leipsic,  1905,  pp.  28-30,  also  in  Weber's  Literatur  der 
Babylonier  und  Assyrer,  135-137,  R.  C.  Thompson,  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Bibli- 
cal ArchcBology,  XXXII,  18-24,  and  M.  F.  Martin,  Journal  Asiatique,  July-August, 
1910,  pp.  75-143- 


INTRODUCTION 


the  Temanite  and  Zophar  the  Naamathite,  while  another 
village,  Es-Suweda,  may  be  the  Shuhu  from  which  it  was 
originally  supposed  that  Bildad  came.  If  the  story  settled 
here,  as  we  suppose,  it  may  well  have  been  attached  to 
some  man  of  Uz  who  had  been  overtaken  by  misfortune. 
Friends  of  such  a  good  man  may  well  have  heard  of  his 
misfortune  and  have  come  (or  have  been  supposed  to  come) 
from  these  villages  to  comfort  him.  As  the  story  circu- 
lated and  became  popular  there  was  an  inevitable  tendency 
to  magnify  Job  and  his  friends  and  to  enlarge  the  theatre 
of  the  tale.  In  the  form  in  which  the  story  is  presented 
in  our  book  Tema  has  been  identified  with  the  more  famous 
Teman  in  Edom;  the  original  of  Shuhu,  mth  the  country 
Shuhu  on  the  distant  Euphrates;  while  the  ''raiders"  of 
the  original  reading  of  i :  15  and  the  "horsemen"  of  i :  17 
have  by  slight  textual  changes  become  respectively  the 
Sabaeans  and  Chaldaeans  —  two  great  and  distant  powers 
(sec  the  notes  on  those  verses). 

This  tendency  to  magnify  the  actors  in  the  story  went 
still  farther  after  our  poet  had  utiHzed  it  for  the  back- 
ground of  his  immortal  work.  The  addition  to  42  :  17 
found  in  the  Arabic  version  places  Uz  itself  on  the  borders 
of  Edom  and  Arabia  and  makes  Job  a  king  of  Edom,  and 
Ehphaz,  king  of  the  Temanites ;  while  the  expansion  of 
this  now  found  in  the  Greek,  Sahidic,  and  Ethiopic  version*^ 
has  made  Bildad  the  Tyrant  of  the  Shuhites,  and  Zophar, 
king  of  the  Minseans  in  South  Arabia  (see  note  on  42  :  17). 
This  tendency  is  carried  still  farther  in  the  Testament  of 
Job,  a  still  later  work.  Here  Job  is  represented  as  a  king  who 
tells  at  great  length  of  all  the  measures  of  truly  royal  munif- 
icence which  he  adopted  to  make  his  great  wealth  a  benefit 
to  the  poor.  In  this  work,  too,  the  friends  are  kings  who  come 
with  their  splendid  body-guards  to  visit  an  afflicted  mon- 
arch. (See  M.  R.  James,  Apocryph  Anecdota,  Cambridge, 
1897,  pp.  104-137;  and  Jewish  Encyclopedia,  VII,  200  ff.) 

Thus  at  the  end  of  the  development  caused  by  the 
tendency  to  glorify  Job  the  simple   villagers    of    these 

6 


INTRODUCTION 


trans- Jordanic  hamlets  figure  in  the  popular  imagina- 
tion as  monarchs  surrounded  with  royal  splendor; 
and  the  sufferer,  as  in  the  Babylonian  poem,  is  a 
monarch. 

The  form  in  which  our  book  presents  the  story  exhibits 
it  in  an  intermediate  stage  of  development  between  its 
humble  Palestinian  beginnings  and  its  final  form. 

The  Problem  of  the  Poem  and  its  Treatment 

The  problem  of  the  Book  of  Job  is  the  problem  of  suffer- 
ing —  why  do  good  men  suffer  ?  The  problem  is  in  part 
a  theological  problem  and  in  part  a  religious  one.  This 
is  true  of  it  in  any  period  of  the  world's  thought,  but  it 
was  pecuHarly  true  of  it  in  the  time  of  our  poet.  The 
prevailing  theology  of  that  time  taught  that  God  rewarded 
good  men  with  health,  wealth,  and  happiness  in  this  life. 
During  his  days  of  prosperity  this  theory  of  Hfe  had  seemed 
to  Job  adequate.  Suddenly,  when  conscious  of  no  sin,  his 
possessions  were  swept  away  from  him,  he  was  robbed  of 
his  children,  and  was  himself  subjected  to  acute  bodily 
suffering.  In  the  prologue,  which  the  writer  adapted 
from  the  old  folk  tale,  the  reader  is  admitted  to  the  secret 
of  the  suffering,  and  is  told  that  God  permitted  it  in  order 
to  reclaim  Satan,  an  angel  who  was  disgruntled  and  had 
become  skeptical  as  to  the  existence  of  disinterested  virtue. 
All  this  was,  however,  hidden  from  Job.  His  suffering 
accordingly  plunged  him  into  the  deepest  perplexity ;  it 
proved  his  theology  false  and  raised  in  its  acutest  form 
the  whole  question  of  his  personal  relation  to  God. 

While  Job  was  suffering  and  pondering  the  problems 
thus  raised,  not  calmly,  but  with  the  disordered  nerves 
and  turbulent  feehngs  which  accompany  a  terrible  disease, 
his  friends  came  and  sat  down  beside  him.  Their  theory 
of  suffering  was  the  one  which  up  to  that  time  Job  had 
held.  They  could  not  look  upon  him  without  deep  and 
genuine  sympathy,  but  it  was  equally  impossible  for  them 


INTRODUCTION 


to  look  upon  him  without  feeHng  that  he  must  have  been 
a  terrible  sinner  —  that  his  whole  life,  which  appeared  to 
be  so  righteous,  was  after  all  a  horrible  sham.  Their 
sympathy  was  accordingly  tempered  by  cold  condemna- 
tion. Job  felt  it  through  their  silence,  and  it  added  to  his 
agony.  At  last  silence  became  unbearable,  and  he  vented 
his  feehngs  in  the  wild  ravings  of  despair  which  form 
ch.  3. 

Job's  wild  utterances  seemed  to  his  friends  blasphemous, 
but  at  first  they  regarded  them  as  the  ravings  of  an  ir- 
responsible, though  sinful,  sufferer  and  treated  him  gently. 
As,  however,  Job  reiterated  his  positions  and  charged  God 
with  using  his  unlimited  power  to  torture  an  insignificant 
creature,  their  patience  gave  way;  they  spoke  more 
and  more  harshly,  finally  directly  charging  Job  with  com- 
mon sins.  In  the  original  form  of  the  poem  each  of  the 
three  friends  was  given  three  speeches  (see  below,  p.  32  ff). 
In  the  first  cycle  of  speeches  the  friends  dwell  on  the 
nature  of  God,  Eliphaz  setting  forth  his  transcendent 
purity,  Bildad  his  inflexible  righteousness,  and  Zophar 
his  inscrutable  wisdom.  In  the  second  cycle  they  paint 
lurid  pictures  of  the  fate  of  the  wicked  —  liis  fife  is  spent 
in  torments,  he  suffers  a  miserable  death,  his  posterity 
perish.  In  the  third  cycle  Ehphaz  directly  charges  Job 
with  flagrant  sin,  while  Bildad  and  Zophar  drive  the  charge 
home  by  portraying  as  in  the  second  cycle  the  terrible  fate 
of  the  sinner. 

Job,  on  his  part,  while  represented  as  speaking  at  times 
in  strains  of  marvellous  beauty  and  vigor,  repels  the  in- 
sinuations and  charges  of  his  friends,  and  mingles  charges 
against  God  that  are  almost  blasphemous  with  expres- 
sions of  touching  yearning  and  of  sublime  faith.  Finally, 
in  chs.  29-31,  Job  repels  the  last  of  the  charges  made 
against  him  by  his  friends,  and  then  centres  his  thought 
upon  a  desire,  which  he  had  several  times  expressed  before 
(13  :  22 ;  14 :  15 ;  23  :  3-10),  to  come  face  to  face  with  God. 
God  at  last  grants  this  desire,  and  by  the  vision  of  the 

8 


INTRODUCTION 


Eternal  (7,8 :  1-42  :  6)  Job  is  satisfied  and  repents.  His 
problem  was  solved  by  a  new  personal  adjustment  to  God. 
In  treating  the  problem  thus  the  poet  set  forth  various 
truths,  the  most  important  of  which  will  be  mentioned 
below.  One  of  the  results  of  his  treatment  was  to  dis- 
prove the  theology  that  was  then  current,  according  to 
which  it  was  taught  that  God  punishes  the  wicked  with 
worldly  adversity  and  rewards  the  righteous  with  worldly 
prosperity.  It  is  true  that  he  permits  the  three  friends  of 
Job  to  say  in  the  poem  all  that  could  be  said  for  this  point 
of  view,  but  he  portrays  in  the  character  and  puts  into 
the  mouth  of  Job  arguments  on  the  other  side  so  strong, 
and  at  the  same  time  pictures  Job  as  finding  his  satis- 
faction in  a  way  so  different,  that  to  all  who  had  ears  to 
hear  his  work  must  have  exploded  this  theological  notion. 

Portrayal  of  the  Growth  of  a  Soul  in  Suffering 

As  a  part  of  his  treatment  of  the  problem  the  poet  has 
graphically  portrayed  the  growth  of  a  soul  in  suffering. 
This  growth  he  has  exhibited  in  three  particulars :  (i)  the 
soul's  faith  in  God;  (2)  faith  in  a  future  life;  and  (3)  the 
discovery  of  the  healing  power  of  present  communion  with 
God.     A  word  concerning  each  of  these  points  is  necessary. 

I.  The  growth  of  Job's  faith  in  God  is  set  forth  with 
great  artistic  power.  At  first  suffering  had  robbed  Job  of 
all  faith  in  God's  goodness.  In  7:12-21  he  bitterly 
complains  that  the  great  ''Watcher"  of  men  is  relentlessly 
and  uselessly  torturing  him;  in  9:  21,  22,  where  he  reck- 
lessly takes  his  destiny  in  his  hands  and  declares  his  integrity 
in  the  expectation  that  God  will  destroy  him  for  it,  he  de- 
clares that  God  ''  destroys  the  perfect  and  the  wicked  "  alike. 
In  these  passages  all  faith  in  God's  goodness  is  gone. 

In  13 :  15,  16  he  is  repeating  this  thought  in  stronger 
language : 

"Behold  he  will  slay  me ;  I  may  not  hope, 
But  my  ways  to  his  face  I  will  maintain,"  _ 

9 


INTRODUCTION 


when  in  spite  of  himself  the  conviction  of  God's  essential 
justice  bursts  in  upon  him  and  he  continues : 

"  This  also  shall  be  my  salvation ; 
For  a  godless  man  shall  not  come  before  him." 

This  new  conviction  that  God  is  really  good  did  not  at 
once  drive  out  all  other  thoughts.  In  all  men  the  best 
conceptions  have  to  struggle  for  a  foothold.  We  accord- 
ingly find  Job  in  i6:  12-18  again  making  a  bitter  com- 
plaint of  the  way  God  had  delivered  him  to  misfortune  to 
destroy  him ;  but  even  while  he  is  saying  it  the  newborn 
conviction  of  God's  goodness  returns  with  increased 
power,  and  he  declares: 

"Even  now,  behold,  my  witness  is  in  heaven, 
And  he  that  voucheth  for  me  is  on  high." 

The  soul  cannot  get  away  from  the  fact  that  God  is  really 
a  moral  being,  and  that  even  when  the  circumstances  of 
life  make  it  appear  otherwise,  there  is  no  refuge  from  God 
but  God. 

Once  more  this  conviction  manifests  itself  in  19 :  25. 
Job  had  just  been  dwelling  upon  the  imminence  and  the 
inevitableness  of  his  dissolution,  but  once  more  declares 
his  faith  in  the  moral  character  and  unshakable  justice 
of  God  by  saying : 

"But  I  know  that  my  Vindicator  liveth, 
And  he  shall  arise  as  a  last  One  over  the  dust." 

God  is  the  Vindicator  and  he  is  the  last  One  because  his 
word  shall  be  final.  Thus  the  sufferer,  who  began  in  a 
strain  of  blasphemy,  ends  in  a  strain  of  confident  faith. 

2.  Parallel  with  the  development  just  sketched  there 
runs  a  growing  faith  in  a  future  life.  His  suffering  had 
made  him  long  to  come  face  to  face  with  God  that  he 
might  be  vindicated  (13  :  22) ;  this  longing  had  in  14:  14 
taken  the  form  of  a  wish  that,  if  a  man  die,  he  might 
live  again.      Finally  faith  in  the  moral  nature  of  God  — 


INTRODUCTION 


a  faith  to  which  he  had  been  driven  even  in  the  midst 
of  the  rebeUious  feehngs  caused  by  his  sufferings  —  led 
him  in  19 :  26,  27  to  the  conviction  that,  though  his  flesh 
should  perish,  yet  apart  from  his  flesh  he  should  see  God. 

Some  scholars  object  to  this  conclusion,  partly  because 
they  beheve  the  text  to  be  insecure,  and  partly  because 
they  consider  such  a  behef  an  anachronism.  The  versions, 
however,  support  the  text  at  this  point  with  much  una- 
nimity, so  that  suspicion  of  the  text  cannot  rightly  be 
based  on  external  evidence.  While  it  is  true  that  a  view 
of  a  life  after  death  thus  spiritually  conceived  does  not 
appear  in  other  Jewish  writings  for  a  long  time,  and  while 
it  is  true  that  later  Psalmists  protested  against  any  faith 
in  a  life  after  death  at  all  (see  Ps.  88 :  12  and  115  :  17), 
it  is  perfectly  possible  that  a  great  genius  such  as  our 
poet  was,  as  he  sought  for  an  adequate  theodicy,  should 
have  let  his  thought  take  this  great  flight  of  faith. 

3.  But  along  with  this  the  poet  portrays  the  discovery 
of  the  healing  power  of  present  communion  with  God. 
Job  had  at  first  longed  to  come  face  to  face  with  God  as 
with  an  opponent  in  a  lawsuit  (13  :  22);  then  he  had  con- 
ceived it  as  resulting  in  some  sort  of  communion  (14:  15); 
but  despairing  of  living  till  he  could  come  face  to  face  with 
God,  he  had  reached  the  conviction  that  after  death  he 
should  come  face  to  face  with  God  and  be  vindicated 
(19:25-27).  This  was  apparently  not  an  unwavering 
conviction.  Reached  in  a  moment  of  exaltation,  it  wavered 
as  the  currents  of  feeling,  which  in  illness  are  unusually 
unstable,  ebbed  again.  In  his  final  appeal  to  God  Job's 
tender  mood  has  passed  and  he  appeals  that  his  great 
Adversary  shall  answer  him,  declaring  that  he  would 
go  into  the  Divine  Presence  proudly  wearing  his  indict- 
ment upon  his  shoulder.  Then  God  appeared  and  an- 
swered Job.  The  majestic  Presence  of  God  affected  the 
springs  of  Job's  feelings  in  ways  that  he  had  not  antici- 
pated. He  found  repentance  springing  up  in  his  breast 
(42:4-6);  and  his  words  of  submission  indicate  that  he 


INTRODUCTION 


had  made  the  unexpected  discovery  that  the  solution  of 
Ufe's  sufferings  and  paradoxes  is  to  be  found  in  present 
communion  with  God. 

The  Poet's  Solution  of  the  Problem  of  Suffering 

Many  interpreters  have  complained  that  he  presented 
no  solution.  They  have  charged  him  with  raising  a  pro- 
found problem,  discussing  it  with  relentless  logic,  and  then 
leaving  it  unsolved.  Duhm  {Hioh.  i8o  ff.)  and  Peake 
{Problem  of  Suffering  in  the  Old  Testament,  loo,  and  Job, 
pp.  1 8,  19,  343)  have  with  better  insight  pointed  out  the 
solution  that  the  poet  really  offers.  With  a  touch  too 
artistic  to  permit  him  to  descend  to  a  homiletic  attitude 
the  poet  has  shown  that  his  solution  of  life's  problem  is 
a  religious  one.  He  had  portrayed  with  great  power  the 
inability  of  man's  mind  to  comprehend  the  universe  or 
to  understand  why  man  must  suffer,  but  he  makes  Job, 
his  hero,  find  in  a  vision  of  God  the  secret  of  life.  Job's 
questions  remain  unanswered,  but  now  that  he  knows  God 
he  is  content  to  let  them  remain  unanswered.  He  cannot 
solve  life's  riddle,  but  is  content  to  trust  God,  of  whose 
goodness  he  is  convinced,  and  who.  Job  is  sure,  knows  the 
answer. 

The  poet  has  thus  taught  that  it  is  in  the  realm  of 
religion  and  not  in  that  of  the  intellect  that  the  solution 
of  Hfe's  mysteries  is  to  be  found. 

In  presenting  this  solution  he  portrays  at  once  the  func- 
tion of  the  intellect  in  religion  and  its  limitations.  He 
shows  that  it  is  the  function  of  the  intellect  to  keep  theology 
in  touch  with  facts,  and  compel  the  abandonment  of  dog- 
mas which  have  ceased  to  be  satisfactory  explanations  of 
experience  and  are  thus  seen  to  be  false.  On  the  other 
hand  he  pictures  with  equal  clearness  the  inability  of  the 
mind  to  fathom  life  and  the  universe,  and  shows  that  here 
the  one  way  to  peace  and  strength  is  in  a  personal  ex- 
perience of  God,  which  begets  faith  and  trust.     One  goes 


INTRODUCTION 


on  then  with  a  happy  heart,  not  because  Ufe's  problems 
are  solved,  but  because  he  lives  in  the  companionship  of 
One  who  knows  the  solution. 


The  Text  of  Job 

The  Hebrew  text  of  the  book  of  Job  has  been  trans- 
mitted to  us  through  MSS.,  something  more  than  two 
hundred  of  which  have  been  in  whole  or  in  part  collated 
for  modern  critical  editions  of  the  book.  These  MSS. 
are  all  later  than  the  year  looo  a.d.,  and  the  text  which 
they  contain  presents  few  variations  of  importance. 
Those  few  are,  however,  valuable.  On  the  whole  it  is 
evident  that  the  text  suffered  many  corruptions  in  trans- 
mission before  the  earhest  extant  Hebrew  MSS.  were 
written.  This  corruption  arose  from  many  causes.  Letters 
were  accidentally  transposed  and  one  group  of  letters  was 
sometimes  mistaken  for  another  group.  As  the  Hebrews 
then  wrote  the  consonants  of  words  only,  a  different  set 
of  vowels  from  those  originally  intended  might  be  supplied 
to  a  word  or  group  of  words  and  give  a  different  meaning 
from  that  originally  expressed.  If  a  scribe  wrote  from 
dictation,  defective  hearing  might  lead  to  changes  in  the 
text. 

In  addition  to  accidents  of  this  sort,  others  arising  from 
the  nature  of  the  subject-matter  undoubtedly  came  in. 
The  line  poetry  of  the  book  was  sometimes  misunderstood 
by  prosaically  minded  scribes,  and  its  bold  criticisms  of 
the  Divine  government  of  the  world  were  certainly  objec- 
tionable to  them.  Deliberate  changes  were  made  to  soften 
such  things  down.  It  has  come  about  from  such  causes 
as  these  that  the  text  of  the  book  of  Job  is  corrupt,  per- 
haps more  so  than  that  of  any  other  Old  Testament  book. 
It  is  in  this  respect  in  striking  contrast  to  the  text  of  the 
book  of  Ecclesiastes  (cf.  Barton,  Ecclesiastes,  in  the  In- 
ternational Critical  Commentary,  pp.  17,  18). 

13 


INTRODUCTION 


As  aids  to  the  correction  of  the  corruptions  of  the  He- 
brew text  we  have  eleven  versions,  which  are  older  than  our 
Hebrew  MSS.     They  are  as  follows: 

1.  The  Greek  Version,  which  is  commonly  called  the 
Septuagint,  was  made  at  a  date  which  cannot  now  be 
determined  with  accuracy.  It  is,  however,  safe  to  say, 
with  Schlirer  (Geschichle  des  judischen  Volkes  in  Zeitalter 
Jesu  Christi,  vierte  Auf.,  Leipsic,  1909,  Band  III,  p.  426  f.), 
that  it  was  not  later  than  the  first  half  of  the  first  century 
B.C.  This  version  is  preserved  for  us  in  two  MSS.  of 
the  fourth  century  a.d.  and  two  of  the  fifth  century, 
not  to  mention  later  MSS.,  and  comes  to  us  accordingly 
in  copies  from  six  to  seven  hundred  years  earlier  than  our 
earliest  Hebrew  MSS.  of  the  book.  The  Septuagint  is, 
accordingly,  a  most  important  instrument  for  the  cor- 
rection of  the  Hebrew  text.  Origen  (185-254  a.d.)  tells 
us  that  the  Septuagint  version  of  Job  known  to  him  was 
about  one-sixth  shorter  than  our  present  text,  and  that  he 
supphed  the  passages  which  it  omitted  from  the  version 
of  Theodotion,  marking  with  a  certain  asterisk  the  passages 
so  supplied.  These  marks  have  been  preserved  in  certain 
MSS.  (see  American  Journal  of  Semitic  Languages,  Vol. 
XXVII,  p.  127  fl.),  and  the  passages  are  still  lacking 
in  the  Sahidic  version,  so  that  it  can  still  be  ascertained 
what  they  were.  In  some  cases  they  undoubtedly  rep- 
resent passages  which  the  Greek  translators  considered 
difficult  or  corrupt,  but  in  some  cases  they  represent 
additions  to  the  book  made  at  least  later  than  the 
Hebrew  exemplar  from  which  the  Septuagint  translation 
was  made.     For  proof,  see  below,  under  Integrity  of  Job. 

2.  The  Version  of  Aquila.  Because  the  Septuagint 
version  had  become  so  popular  among  Christians,  Aquila, 
a  Jewish  proselyte,  made  another  and  much  more  literal 
translation  into  Greek  in  the  second  century  a.d.  Said 
to  have  been  related  by  marriage  to  the  emperor  Hadrian 
(i  17-138  A.D.),  Aquila  became  a  convert  to  Christianity, 
but,  refusing  to  give  up  the  practice  of  magic,  he  was  ex- 

14 


INTRODUCTION 


communicated  and  joined  the  Jews  in  disgust.  His 
translation  was  made  before  177  a.d.,  for  it  was  known  to 
Irenasus.  Aquila's  version  was  made  under  the  patronage 
of  leaders  of  the  Jewish  synagogue,  its  literalness  com- 
mended it  to  them,  and  it  attained  a  considerable  popu- 
larity among  the  Jews.  It  contained  the  passages  which 
the  Septuagint  omitted. 

3.  Version  of  Theodotion.  Theodotion,  said  by  Irenseus 
to  have  been  a  Jewish  proselyte,  appears  to  have  lived 
at  Ephesus,  where  he  made  his  translation  of  the  Old 
Testament  into  Greek  before  the  end  of  the  second  century 
A.D.  Swete  says  of  him:  "he  seems  to  have  produced  a 
free  revision  of  the  Septuagint  rather  than  an  independent 
version."  Probably  his  version  was  made  because 
Aquila's  was  too  hteral  to  be  pleasing  to  those  who  knew 
Greek  well.  Like  Aquila's,  his  version  contains  the  por- 
tions of  Job  which  the  Septuagint  omitted. 

4.  The  Version  of  Symmaclms.  Symmachus,  a  man  ap- 
parently of  Jewish  or  Samaritan  parentage,  who,  probably, 
became  an  Ebionite  Christian,  made  a  fourth  translation 
of  the  Old  Testament  into  Greek  at  the  end  of  the  second 
or  beginning  of  the  third  century.  His  version  was 
known  to  Origen  in  the  year  228  a.d.,  and  consequently 
cannot  have  been  made  later  than  the  first  quarter  of  the 
third  century.  The  earHer  Greek  versions  were,  it  is 
thought,  known  to  him.  His  aim  was  to  catch  the  mean- 
ing of  the  Hebrew  and  to  express  it  in  elegant  Greek. 

5.  The  Old  LatinVersion.  The  Old  Testament  was  trans- 
lated into  Latin  for  the  use  of  the  Latin-speaking  Christians 
of  North  Africa  as  early,  probably,  as  the  second  century. 
This  version,  so  far  as  the  book  of  Job  is  concerned,  is 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  fragmentary  portions  which  exist 
in  MS.  form,  known  to  us  only  in  the  quotations  of  Cyprian 
(who  died  258  a.d.)  and  other  Latin  Fathers.  This  trans- 
lation, so  far  as  we  can  obtain  it  for  Job,  agrees  closely  with 
the  Septuagint.  It  is  clearly  dependent  on  that  version, 
rarely  exhibiting  independent  influence  of  the  Hebrew. 

15 


INTRODUCTION 


6.  The  Latin  Vulgate.  The  basis  of  this  version  was 
made  by  St.  Jerome  between  383  and  420  a.d.  He 
translated  from  the  Hebrew  text,  but  had  full  knowledge 
of  the  Greek  versions  and  also  the  benefit  of  knowledge 
gained  from  the  Jewish  teachers  of  whom  he  learned 
Hebrew.  His  version  is  often  independent  of  all  others, 
therefore,  but  in  a  number  of  cases  in  Job  it  agrees  with 
the  Targum,  showing  that  the  Jewish  information  to 
which  Jerome  had  access  was  identical  with  that  which 
formed  the  Targum. 

7.  The  Sahidic  Version.  The  Old  Testament  was,  it  is 
believed,  translated  into  the  Egyptian  dialects  during  the 
second  century.  The  translation  into  Sahidic,  the  dialect 
of  Upper  Egypt,  was  pubhshed  by  Ciasca,  1 885-1 889, 
under  the  title  Sacrorum  Bibliorum  Fragmenta  Copto- 
Sahidica  Musei  Borgiana.  With  the  exception  of  one  or 
two  small  lacunae  where  the  MS.  was  fragmentary,  it  con- 
tains the  whole  of  the  book  of  Job.  The  translation  into 
Sahidic  was  made  from  the  Septuagint  version  before  that 
version  had  been  enlarged  by  Origen ;  it  is,  accordingly,  a 
very  important  witness  to  the  readings  of  the  original 
Septuagint. 

8.  The  Ethiopic  Version.  Abyssinia  was  evangelized 
during  the  fourth  century,  when  (or  soon  after)  the 
Scriptures  were  translated  into  Ethiopic.  The  Ethiopic 
text  of  the  book  of  Job  was  edited  from  23  MSS.  by  F.  M. 
E.  Pereira  in  Firman-Didot's  Patrologia  Orientalia,  Tom. 
II,  Paris,  1905,  pp.  565-688.  This  version  is  as  clearly 
based  upon  the  Septuagint  as  the  Sahidic  version  is,  but 
there  is  this  difference:  the  Septuagint  from  which  the 
Ethiopic  translation  was  made  was  the  Septuagint  which 
Origen  expanded  from  the  text  of  Theodotion.  The 
Ethiopic  version  is  accordingly  chiefly  valuable  as  a  witness 
to  the  Septuagint  text  of  Job  after  the  time  of  Origen. 

9.  The  Syriac  Version.  The  origin  of  this  version  is  as 
obscure  as  when  Theodore  of  Mopsuestia  declared  that  no 
one  knew  who  made  it.     It  was,  perhaps,  made  in  the 

16 


INTRODUCTION 


second  century  and  probably  not  later  than  the  third. 
While  in  some  of  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  this 
version  was  clearly  influenced  by  the  Septuagint  transla- 
tion, that  is  not  the  case  with  the  book  of  Job.  In  Job 
the  Syriac  was  clearly  obtained  by  translating  directly 
from  the  Hebrew  text,  and  the  translators  had  before  them 
a  text  which  often  differed  from  our  present  Hebrew  MSS ; 
the  version  is,  therefore,  a  valuable  instrument  for  the 
correction  of  the  present  text. 

10.  The  Targum.  The  Targumim  are  Jewish  transla- 
tions or  paraphrases  of  Jewish  books  in  the  Aramaic 
language.  The  Targum  of  Job  is  a  real  translation  of  the 
book.  It  was  made,  so  Bacher  {Jewish  Encyclopedia, 
Vol.  XII,  p.  62)  concludes,  before  the  fall  of  Rome  in 
476  A.D.  The  phenomena  which  he  adduces  point  to  a 
date  between  395  and  476.  The  Targum  of  Job  contains 
more  variations  from  the  Hebrew  text  than  the  Targumim 
of  Old  Testament  books  usually  do.  It  is,  therefore,  of  con- 
siderable importance  in  determining  the  original  readings. 

11.  The  Arabic  Version.  The  Arabic  version,  made  by 
Saadia  Gaon,  who  died  in  942  a.d.,  closely  follows  in  Job 
the  Syriac  version  in  most  of  its  readings,  though  it  oc- 
casionally betrays  a   trace   of   direct  Hebrew  influence. 

These  versions  have  been  compared  by  the  writer  and 
their  important  variations  from  the  Hebrew  text  are  given 
along  with  the  marginal  readings  of  the  Revised  Version. 
From  what  has  been  said  above,  as  well  as  from  a  com- 
parison of  the  readings  cited  below,  it  is  evident  that, 
as  in  the  case  of  New  Testament  MSS.,  these  versions  in 
part  fall  into  groups.  The  members  of  these  groups 
generally  appear  together  in  support  of  the  same  readings. 
The  two  most  striking  groups  are  (i)  that  composed  of 
the  Septuagint,  Old  Latin,  Sahidic,  and  Ethiopic,  (2)  that 
composed  of  the  Syriac  and  Arabic,  while  far  less  often 
(3)  the  Vulgate  and  Targum  stand  together. 

Important  as  the  versions  are,  they  cannot  be  followed 
blindly.  Their  translators  sometimes  had  a  text  which 
c  17 


INTRODUCTION 


was  as  corrupt  as  our  Hebrew.  It  is  clear  in  numerous 
instances  that  they  misunderstood  the  Hebrew  which  lay 
before  them,  and  at  times  it  would  appear  that  they  en- 
deavored by  violent  methods  to  force  a  meaning  out  of  a 
text  that  had  become  unintelhgible.  But  after  allowance 
has  been  made  for  these  drawbacks,  there  remains  a  large 
residuum  of  cases  in  which  it  is  clear  that  the  versions  in 
contrast  to  the  Hebrew  text  have  preserved  the  true 
reading. 

After  all  the  help  which  these  versions  give  us,  however, 
it  is  clear  to  the  careful  student  that  some  passages  remain 
hopelessly  corrupt.  It  is  certain  that  a  poet  of  the  abiHty 
of  the  author  of  Job  would  express  thoughts  that  are  in- 
telligible, clear,  and  poetical.  There  are  in  Job  a  number 
of  passages,  probably  greater  than  one  will  find  in  any 
other  book  of  the  Old  Testament,  in  which  neither  the 
reading  of  the  Hebrew  nor  of  any  of  the  versions  affords 
a  thought  that  is  intelligible  and  clear.  Our  textual 
material  for  Job  is  too  scanty  to  make  the  textual  criticism 
of  the  book  anything  like  the  exact  science  that  the  text- 
ual criticism  of  the  New  Testament  is.  All  that  the 
interpreter  can  do  in  such  cases  is  to  fall  back  upon 
conjectural  emendations.  These  emendations  are  clearly 
hypothetical;  they  are  not,  perhaps,  in  most  cases  what 
the  poet  actually  wrote ;  but  if  they  present  an  idea  that 
is  intelligible,  clear,  and  poetical,  they  are  more  likely  to 
be  correct  than  the  readings  which  do  not  present  such  an 
idea.  The  present  writer  holds  conservative  \dews  as 
to  the  freedom  that  should  be  accorded  to  conjectural 
emendation.  It  is  his  conviction  that,  if  an  ancient 
text  affords  a  possible  meaning,  it  should  be  given 
preference  over  a  modern  guess.  He  has,  nevertheless, 
in  the  pages  that  follow  been  compelled  to  recom- 
mend the  student  in  a  considerable  number  of  cases  to 
adopt 'a  modern  conjecture  as  the  best  that  can  be  done 
at  present  toward  ascertaining  the  poet's  original  ex- 
pression. 

i8 


INTRODUCTION 


The  Integrity  of  the  Book 

It  will  conduce  to  clearness  to  consider  this  subject 
under  the  following  topics :  (i)  the  omissions  of  the  Sep- 
tuagint  version;  (2)  the  Elihu  speeches;  (3)  other  inter- 
polations; (4)  editorial  changes  in  genuine  portions  of  the 
book. 

I.  The  Omissions  of  the  Septuagint  Version.  The  Sep- 
tuagint  version,  as  already  noted,  omitted,  so  Origen  states, 
about  one-sixth  of  the  text  of  Job.  The  late  Professors 
Hatch  of  Oxford  and  Bickell  of  Vienna  held  that  none 
of  the  material  which  the  Septuagint  omitted  belonged  to 
the  original  text  of  the  poem.  The  views  of  Hatch,  pub- 
lished in  his  Essays  in  Biblical  Greek,  Oxford,  18S9,  are 
more  consistently  carried  out  than  those  of  Bickell,  which 
were  pubHshed  in  various  numbers  of  Wiener  Zeitschrift, 
fiir  die  Kunde  des  Morganlandes,  for  1892,  and  in  his  book. 
Das  Buch  Job  nach  Anleitung  der  Strophik  und  der  Sep- 
tuaginta,  Wien,  1894.  Bickell  omits  quite  as  many  verses 
because  they  do  not  conform  to  his  theory  of  the  metre 
as  he  does  because  they  are  lacking  in  the  Septuagint. 
The  views  of  Hatch  were  subjected  to  a  thorough  exami- 
nation by  the  late  Professor  Dillmann  of  Berlin,  in  an 
article  published  in  the  Sitztmgsberichte  of  the  Berlin 
Academy  for  1890,  Band  II,  pp.  1345  ff.  Dillmann  went 
to  the  other  extreme,  holding  that  the  omissions  of  the 
Septuagint  were  made  deliberately.  The  problem  has 
been  recently  examined  by  Dr.  H.  H.  Nichols  in  the 
American  Journal  of  Semitic  Languages,  Vol.  XXVII, 
pp.  126  ff.,  who  rightly  holds  that,  while  the  Septuagint 
cannot  be  thoughtlessly  followed  in  all  its  omissions,  it 
does  in  some  important  cases  point  to  real  interpolations. 

A  careful  study  of  the  subject  indicates  that  the  Sep- 
tuagint translator  was  wont  to  omit  what  appeared  to  him 
to  be  repetitions  in  altered  form.  Sometimes  this  led  him 
to  omit  a  mere  phrase ;  sometimes,  the  second  member  of 

19 


INTRODUCTION 


a  parallelism;  sometimes,  a  verse  or  more  which  for 
emphasis  restates  the  thought  in  altered  form;  some- 
times, quotations  from  other  parts  of  the  poem ;  and  some- 
times, difficult  passages.  When  once  this  tendency  on  the 
part  of  the  translator  is  recognized,  the  necessity  of  re- 
garding with  suspicion  every  line  or  verse  which  this 
version  omits  is  removed.  There  remain,  however,  some 
longer  omissions  which  ought  to  be  noted  here. 
These  longer  omissions  are  as  follows : 


21 : 

128- 

-33- 

36: 

:  yb-g. 

24: 

: i4C-i8a. 

36: 

:  iob-13. 

26: 

:5-] 

[I. 

36: 

:  16-17. 

28: 

:  14- 

-19. 

36; 

;  26,  27b, 

28a. 

32: 

II- 

-17. 

36: 

29-32. 

34: 

28- 

-33- 

37: 

2-5a. 

37:11, 

i2ab,  I 

3- 

Of  these  omissions,  24 :  i4C-i8a  will  be  treated  below 
under  "Other  Editorial  Revision"  and  32:11-17  under 
the  "Elihu  Speeches."  It  will  be  more  convenient  to 
consider  the  remaining  omissions  in  the  reverse  order  to 
that  in  which  they  are  given  above. 

The  last  four  of  the  omissions  noted  above,  viz.  36  :  26, 
27b,  28a,  29-32  and  37 :  2-5a,  11,  i2ab,  13,  fall,  as  Dr. 
Nichols  has  shown,  into  a  group  by  themselves.  When 
these  portions  are  taken  from  their  present  positions  and 
read  one  after  the  other,  they  form  a  connected  and 
spirited  psalm  on  a  rain-storm  —  a  psalm  superior  in  poetic 
skill  to  the  context  in  which  they  stand.  Moreover,  when 
this  is  done,  the  portions  of  the  speech  of  Elihu  from 
which  these  passages  have  been  separated  gain  greatly  in 
clearness  and  in  poetic  power.  The  reader  will  find  the 
psalm  of  the  rain-storm  connectedly  translated  in  the  note 
on  37  :  13,  and  the  parts  of  the  speech  of  Ehhu  from  which 
it  has  been  separated,  in  the  note  on  37 :  12,  and  may  see 
for  himself  how  much  clearer  both  compositions  become 
when  separated  than  the  present  text  is  now.  The  in- 
ternal evidence  of  the  material  combines  here  with  the 


INTRODUCTION 


external  evidence  of  the  Septuagint  and  Saliidic  versions 
to  show  that  this  psalm  was  broken  up  and  interpolated 
here  after  the  exemplar  from  which  the  Septuagint  was 
translated  was  written.  The  union  of  these  two  lines  of 
evidence  is  on  such  a  point  conclusive. 

It  has  also  been  shown  by  Dr.  Nichols  that  three  other 
sections  which  the  Septuagint  omits  belong  together,  viz. 
34:28-33;  36:7b-9  and  iob-13.  These  form  a  poem, 
or  are  parts  of  two  poems,  on  the  conduct  and  the  fate 
of  kings.  (For  the  way  they  fit  together,  see  note  on 
36:  13.)  When  these  sections  are  removed,  the  portions 
of  the  speeches  of  Elihu  in  which  they  are  respectively 
embedded  gain  in  clearness  and  force  (see,  for  example, 
the  note  on  36:18).  Here  again  the  external  evidence 
of  the  Septuagint  and  Sahidic  versions  combines  with  the 
internal  evidence  of  the  material  itself  to  prove  that  an 
interpolation  was  made  in  the  Hebrew  text  after  the 
exemplar  from  which  the  Septuagint  was  made  was  written. 

When  we  turn  to  28 :  14-19,  the  same  thing  is  true. 
The  poet  in  the  first  thirteen  verses  of  the  chapter  has 
shown  that  gems  are  mined  from  the  earth,  but  that  wis- 
dom can  be  found  in  no  locality.     Verse  20, 

"Whence  then  cometh  wisdom? 
And  where  is  the  place  of  understanding  ?  " 

connects  directly  with  v.  13.  Verses  14-19,  which  form  a 
disquisition  on  the  price  of  wisdom,  enlarge  upon  a  matter 
which,  though  incidentally  mentioned  in  v.  13,  is  in 
reality,  when  thus  expanded,  irrelevant,  and  weakens  the 
comparison  of  the  chapter  as  a  whole.  We  accordingly 
conclude  again  that  the  omissions  of  the  Septuagint  and 
Saliidic  versions  attest  a  late  addition  to  the  text. 

In  the  case  of  26:5-11  the  decision  is  not  so  easy. 
Several  of  the  leading  modern  interpreters  beheve  that 
those  verses  originally  belonged  in  another  part  of  the 
poem,  that  they  are  misplaced  in  their  present  position, 
and  that  the  Septuagint  and  Sahidic  versions  preserve 


INTRODUCTION 


the  memory  of  a  time  when  they  did  not  belong  here. 
This  opinion  does  not,  however,  seem  well  founded.  Verse 
12  does  not  connect  at  all  with  v.  4  and  it  is  certain  that 
something  must  have  stood  between  them.  Verses  5-1 1 
not  only  form  an  admirable  connection  where  they  now 
stand,  but  treat  of  a  theme  which  the  poet  has  elsewhere 
(9:  I  ff.,  ch.  12),  represented  Job  as  treating.  The  theme 
is  handled  here  in  the  vigorous,  poetic  way  in  which  the 
poet,  who  puts  his  best  poetry  into  the  mxouth  of  Job, 
makes  Job  speak,  and  it  seems  most  probable  that  he 
wrote  these  verses  for  the  place  where  we  now  find  them. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  likeness  of  the  theme  to  that  of 
9:1  ff.,  together  with  some  differences  in  the  handling  of 
the  theme,  which  seem  to  contradict  ch.  9  (see  notes  on 
26 :  7  and  10),  would  seem  to  have  afforded  the  Septua- 
gint  translator,  whose  tendency  to  omit  repetitions  we 
have  already  noted,  a  reason  to  omit  these  verses.  If 
this  is  the  right  explanation,  as  seems  most  probable,  our 
difficulty  has  been  caused  by  the  fact  that  his  method  led 
him  in  this  case  to  omit  an  unusually  long  section. 

With  regard  to  21 :  28-33  ^  decision  is  still  more 
difficult.  The  verses  when  correctly  translated  are  very 
fitting  in  the  mouth  of  Job,  contain  some  fine  poetical 
touches,  and  are  not  out  of  harmony  with  the  context 
(see  notes  on  them).  On  the  other  hand,  they  might  be 
dropped  out  and  would  never  be  seriously  missed.  Verse 
34  connects  very  well  with  v.  27.  The  internal  evidence 
is  very  evenly  balanced.  If,  however,  as  we  have  seen, 
the  Septuagint  translator  could  omit  one  section  of  con- 
siderable length,  he  may  have  omitted  another,  and  a 
possible  motive  for  such  an  omission  may  be  found  in  the 
fact  that  21 :  28  may  have  been  regarded  as  a  repetition 
of  20 :  7,  On  the  whole,  therefore,  we  do  not  seem  to  be 
justified  in  regarding  the  verses  as  an  interpolation. 

2.  The  Elihu  Speeches.  —  Chs.  32-37.  A  study  of  the 
omissions  of  the  Septuagint  has  revealed  the  fact  that 
there  are  in  Job  some  minor  interpolations.     Are  there 


INTRODUCTION 


any  larger  ones?  In  answer  to  this  inquiry  it  must  be 
noted  that  chs.  32-37,  which  constitute  the  Elihu  speeches, 
have  been  regarded  by  a  large  number  of  scholars  during 
the  past  century  as  an  addition  to  the  book  made  by 
some  one  later  than  the  author  of  the  original  work. 

The  main  reasons  which  have  led  to  these  conclusions 
are  as  follows:  (i)  While  all  the  other  characters  are 
mentioned  in  the  prologue  and  the  epilogue,  Elihu  is  not 
mentioned  in  either  of  these.  His  absence  from  the 
prologue  is  atoned  for,  it  is  true,  by  a  Httle  prose  prologue 
to  his  speeches  (32  :  1-6).  That  prologue,  however,  itself 
excites  suspicion  by  the  way  in  which  it  interrupts  the 
flow  of  the  poetical  thought,  and  it  also  fails  to  account 
for  Elihu's  presence  at  the  great  debate.  But  even  if 
this  prosaic  introduction  of  Elihu  in  ch.  32  be  thought 
to  account  satisfactorily  for  his  absence  from  the  pro- 
logue, his  absence  from  the  epilogue,  where  a  reward  is 
assigned  to  each  of  the  great  actors  in  the  poem,  is  still 
inexphcable.  If  Elihu  had  been  a  creation  of  the  poet 
and  had  been  intended  by  him  as  the  vindicator  of  Jehovah 
from  Job's  aspersions,  he  should  have  so  changed  the 
epilogue  as  to  make  him  receive  a  greater  reward  than 
Job ;  if  he  intended  him  to  be  a  mere  repeater  of  the 
arguments  of  the  friends,  who,  like  them,  is  but  a  plausible 
champion  of  an  outworn  theology,  he  should  have  made 
his  condemnation  in  the  epilogue  as  prominent  as  theirs. 
The  absence  of  Elihu  here  strongly  suggests  that  he  is 
the  creature  of  a  later  interpolator. 

(2)  The  speeches  of  Elihu  interrupt  the  development 
of  the  poem  and  detract  from  its  artistic  perfection.  Job 
at  the  end  of  ch.  31  {i.e.  31 135-37)  appeals  to  Jehovah. 
The  whole  question  had  previously  been  threshed  out; 
the  friends  had  presented  their  arguments,  had  been  foiled, 
and  had  found  nothing  in  reply  better  than  denunciation. 
Job  had  turned  away  from  earthly  help  and  made  his 
appeal  to  God.  A  poet  possessed  of  the  great  artistic 
sense  which  the  author  of  this  book  manifests  in  other 

23 


INTRODUCTION 


respects  would,  if  he  were  going  to  make  Jehovah  reply 
at  all,  make  him  speak,  one  feels,  at  that  point.  To  pre- 
pare the  way  for  the  denouement,  to  work  the  imagination 
up  to  the  highest  pitch  for  it,  and  then  to  introduce  a 
long  disquisition  from  a  new  character  which  adds  noth- 
ing of  importance  to  the  poem,  is  an  inartistic  procedure. 
It  weakens  the  force  of  the  climax.  Of  such  a  violation 
of  the  canons  of  good  art  there  is  reason  to  beUeve  the 
poet  was  not  guilty.  The  opening  words  of  the  address 
of  Jehovah  in  38 :  2  ff.  refer,  as  all  interpreters  agree,  to 
Job.  They  connect  directly  with  31 :  35-37.  The  Divine 
Speaker  utterly  ignores  Elihu.  Had  the  author  of  ch.  :^S 
been  also  the  author  of  chs.  32-37  this  probably  would 
not  have  been  the  case. 

(3)  The  speeches  of  Elihu  contain  nothing  that  is  not 
contained  either  in  the  speeches  of  the  friends  or  in  that 
of  Jehovah.  His  arguments  are  substantially  the  argu- 
ments of  the  friends.  He  presents  no  explanation  for 
suffering  which  they  have  not  presented,  though  he  en- 
larges slightly  more  than  they  upon  the  function  of  suffer- 
ing in  bringing  the  sinner  to  repentance.  The  real  attitude 
of  the  author  towards  these  arguments  is  presented  in 
chs.  4-31.  In  those  chapters  he  has  portrayed  the  in- 
adequacy of  these  arguments;  he  has  shown  how  out  of 
accord  with  experience  this  view  of  life  is.  It  is  hardly 
conceivable,  therefore,  that  he  should  permit  the  same 
things  to  be  said  again  and  to  pass  without  reply  as 
though  they  were  unanswerable.  He,  then,  can  hardly  have 
been  the  one  who  placed  the  Elihu  speeches  in  the  book. 

(4)  In  their  descriptions  of  the  connection  of  God  with 
nature  the  Elihu  speeches  anticipate  in  an  inferior  way 
what  is  said  more  powerfully  by  Jehovah  subsequently. 
This  detracts  from  the  full  majesty  and  force  of  the 
speech  of  Jehovah.  Were  a  great  poet  to  represent  God 
as  spealdng  (and  our  poet  was  incontestably  one  of  the 
world's  greatest)  he  would  hardly  have  adopted  a  de\dce 
to  detract  from  the  majesty  and  sublimity  of  the  Divine 

24 


INTRODUCTION 


utterance.  That  he  did  not  do  this  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  in  32 :  13  EUhu  protests  against  bringing  God  into 
the  discussion  at  all.  One  cannot  well  beheve  that  the 
poet  condemned  his  own  course  in  advance.  Such  a  protest 
might  come  from  the  pen  of  an  interpolator,  who  wished 
to  mark  his  disapproval  of  a  poem  which  he  could  not 
suppress,  but  hardly  from  the  pen  of  the  original  writer. 

(5)  Another  point  which  tells  against  the  genuineness  of 
the  Elihu  speeches  is  the  inferior  character  of  their  poetry 
in  comparison  with  the  rest  of  the  poem.  The  phrasing 
is  frequently  lacking  in  rhythm,  descending  often  to  the 
prosaic,  and  the  splendid  imagination  which  marks  the 
genuine  work  of  the  great  poet  is  here  conspicuously 
absent.  The  use  of  figures  is  less  frequent,  and  where 
figures  occur  their  use  is  less  original  and  powerful.  The 
chapters  bear  the  literary  marks  of  having  been  coined 
in  a  much  more  commonplace  mind. 

(6)  The  language  of  these  chapters  points  in  the  same 
direction.  It  is  less  pure  Hebrew  than  the  rest  of  the 
book ;   the  proportion  of  Aramaisms  in  it  is  much  greater. 

These  reasons  have  been  sufficient  to  persuade  the 
majority  of  modern  scholars  that  chs.  32-37  are  an  inter- 
polation. On  the  other  hand  the  genuineness  of  these 
chapters  has  been  defended  by  Budde,  Wildeboer,  Cornill, 
Briggs,  and  Genung.  Those  who  maintain  their  genuine- 
ness do  not  all  estimate  the  value  of  Elihu' s  contribution 
to  the  poem  in  the  same  way.  Briggs  and  Genung  hold 
that  he  is  introduced  as  the  self-confident  young  man, 
who  intervenes  in  the  debate  to  set  both  parties  right, 
but  contributes  httle  that  is  of  value.  On  this  view  the 
poet  introduced  him  to  show  finally  and  more  fully  the 
inadequacy  of  the  views  of  the  friends,  and  to  prepare  for 
the  transition  from  Job's  warped  conceptions  to  the 
majestic  address  of  Jehovah.  Plausible  as  this  theory 
may  be  at  first  sight,  it  is  not  satisfactory.  It  entirely 
fails  to  account  for  the  inartistic  way  in  which  these 
chapters  come  in,  nor  does  it  explain  their  inferior  quality 

25 


INTRODUCTION 


and  unpoetical  character.  Moreover,  if  the  author  had 
intended  to  represent  Ehhu  as  the  self-confident,  bom- 
bastic dialectician,  he  would  carefully  have  refrained  from 
allowing  him  to  anticipate  the  majestic  words  of  Jehovah. 

Cornill's  defence  of  the  genuineness  of  these  chapters 
is  different.  He  claims  that  without  them  the  book  con- 
tains no  solution  of  the  problem  of  suffering;  he  holds 
that  a  thinker  of  such  power  as  this  poet  must  have  had 
a  solution  for  the  problem,  and  that  we  actually  find 
that  solution  in  the  speeches  of  Elihu  in  the  teaching  that 
suffering  has  a  teleological  value,  its  aim  being  to  give 
man  self-knowledge,  bring  him  to  repentance,  and  induce 
him  to  take  a  right  attitude  toward  God. 

This  view  is  not,  upon  closer  examination,  more  satis- 
factory than  the  preceding  one.  It  is  not  true  that  the 
author  does  not  elsewhere  oft'er  a  solution  of  the  problem. 
While  he  does  not  present  that  solution  in  argued  speech, 
he  suggests  it  in  a  still  more  powerful  way  by  dramatic 
action.  His  solution,  as  noted  above  (p.  12.  fif.),  is 
that  religious  experience  is  the  explanation  of  life's  enigma. 
He  not  only  has  a  solution,  but  one  much  more  profound 
than  any  which  the  Elihu  chapters  furnish,  and  the  presen- 
tation of  which  in  strong  and  artistic  form  the  presence  of 
the  Elihu  speeches  mars. 

We  conclude,  therefore,  that  these  speeches  are  an  in- 
terpolation. The  motive  for  such  an  interpolation,  too, 
it  not  far  to  seek.  The  poet  had  made  Job  speak  with  a 
boldness  which  shocked  the  moral  sense  of  orthodox 
behevers;  he  had  also  permitted  Job  to  silence  the  de- 
fenders of  the  views  which  had  satisfactorily  explained 
God's  providences  to  preceding  generations,  and  which 
the  pious  held  in  grateful  reverence.  If  the  poem  was 
to  circulate  at  all  (and  it  was  too  popular  to  suppress  en- 
tirely) it  was  very  natural  that  some  pious  soul  or  souls 
should  seek  to  make  it  less  offensive  by  the  introduction 
of  a  speaker  who  should  voice  the  orthodox  \'iews,  and 
who,  because  no  reply  was  made  to  him,  should  seem  to 

26 


INTRODUCTION 


do  so  triumphantly.  The  history  of  other  Old  Testament 
books,  as  for  example  Ecclesiastes  (see  Barton's  Eccle- 
siastes  in  the  International  Critical  Commentary,  pp.  43-46)1 
proves  that  such  motives  were  potent  among  the  Jews. 

Until  recently  it  has  been  held  by  those  who  beheve 
the  EHhu  chapters  to  be  an  interpolation  that  one  author 
composed  them  ah.  The  present  writer  is  compelled, 
however,  to  agree  with  Dr.  H.  H.  Nichols  (see  American 
Journal  of  Semitic  Languages,  Vol.  XXVII,  pp.  97-186) 
in  beheving  that  the  work  of  two  different  supplementers 
to  the  book,  or  critics  of  it,  has  been  combined  in  what 
now  constitutes  the  Elihu  speeches. 

The  reasons  for  this  view  are  as  follows:  i.  In  ch. 
32  there  is  considerable  repetition.  The  prose  introduc- 
tion (vs.  1-5)  is  really  repeated  in  the  poetry  of  vs.  6-17. 
An  examination  of  vs.  6-17  shows  that  vs.  11-17  repeat 
in  part  Elihu's  reasons  for  speaking  advanced  in  vs.  6-10, 
concluding  with  the  same  words.  This  suggests  a  dupli- 
cation. This  suggestion  is  confirmed  by  the  contents. 
Verses  11-17  are  addressed  to  the  friends,  while  vs.  6-10 
are  addressed  to  Job.  The  suggestion  also  finds  confirma- 
tion in  the  Septuagint  and  SaMdic  versions,  which  omitted 
vs.  11-17.  While  it  is  possible,  as  noted  above,  that  the 
translator  of  the  Septuagint  omitted  these  verses  because 
he  thought  them,  a  repetition,  it  is  also  possible  that  their 
absence  is  due  to  an  early  disturbance  of  the  text  at  this 
point.  If,  now,  we  regard  32  :  1-17  as  a  compound  of  two 
separate  introductions  to  two  originally  separate  Elihu 
addresses,  one  of  which  was  addressed  to  Job  and  the 
other  to  the  friends,  it  is  quite  possible  to  separate  the 
two  strands  and  to  gain  two  introductions,  each  of  which 
is  complete  and  clear  and  contains  no  repetitions.  (See 
below,  p.  29.) 

2.  On  examination  of  the  remaining  parts  of  the  Elihu 
speeches,  exclusive  of  the  interpolated  psalm  of  the  rain- 
storm and  poem  on  kings  referred  to  above,  we  find  a 
similar  difference.     Chapter  34  is  addressed,  not  to  Job, 

27 


INTRODUCTION 


but  to  ''wise  men,"  the  class  to  which  the  friend  pres- 
sumably  belonged.  Job  is  mentioned  in  the  third  person, 
no  sympathy  with  Ms  sufferings  is  expressed,  no  hint  is 
given  that  he  had  any  problem  to  solve,  but  he  is  merci- 
lessly condemned  as  a  blasphemer  and  a  "man  of  in- 
iquity" (vs.  7,  8,36).  The  chapter  is  a  passionate  appeal  to 
the  wise  to  condemn  the  positions  taken  in  the  poem  made 
by  one  who  felt  the  greatest  repugnance  for  its  doctrine. 

This  is  in  striking  contrast  to  the  rest  of  the  Elihu 
speeches  as  represented  in  32  :  18-22,  and  chs.  t,;^,  35,  36, 
and  37.  In  these  portions  Elihu  not  only  addresses 
himself  to  Job,  but  is  represented  as  a  divinely  appointed 
messenger  for  Job's  reclamation  (see  note  on  S3  •  23). 
The  tone  of  his  remarks  to  Job  is  one  of  kindly,  but 
serious,  admonition,  not  of  severe  condemnation.  He 
plays  throughout  the  role  of  one  who  would  redeem  Job 
and  win  him  to  repentance,  who  would  explain  to  his 
reason  the  mysterious  ways  of  Providence  and  bring  Job 
into  harmony  with  God.  His  monologue  is  to  the  end 
a  "mild-mannered  homily,"  in  striking  contrast  to  the 
severe  tone  of  ch.  34.  We  conclude,  therefore,  that  two 
different  writers  have  been  at  work  here. 

This  is  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  ch.  34  as  it  now 
stands  interrupts  an  address  of  Elihu  to  Job.  In  :^^  : 
31-33  Elihu  has  admonished  Job  to  listen  to  him  and  has 
promised  to  teach  him  wisdom.  As  the  text  now  stands, 
instead  of  doing  this  he,  in  ch.  34,  denounces  Job  to 
others,  but  in  35  :  2  returns  to  address  Job.  Chapter  35:1 
(''Moreover  Elihu  answered  and  said")  is  clearly  a  later 
editorial  addition.  Remove  ch.  34  and  this  editorial 
gloss,  and  35:2  ff.  so  naturally  continues  the  discourse 
for  which  ^7, :  31-33  has  prepared  the  way,  that  we  can- 
not but  believe  that  a  piece  of  cloth  from  another  literary 
garment  has  been  placed  between  them  by  some  editor. 

With  ch.  34  we  should  also  put  35 :  15,  16,  two  verses 
which  speak  of  Job  in  the  third  person,  and  which  are 
evidently  out  of  place  where  they  now  stand. 

28 


INTRODUCTION 


If  we  designate  the  main  Elihu  writer  —  the  author  of 
the  "mild-mannered  homily" — by  A,  and  the  writer 
who  appeals  to  the  wise  men  by  B,  the  material  con- 
tributed by  each  is  as  follows  : 

To  A  belong  32  :  i,  6-10,  18-22  ;  ss  '  ^SS  ',  35  •  2-14; 
36:2-5,  loa,  6a,  12  [of  the  Septuagint  text],  14,  15,  6b, 
7a,  18-25,  27a,  28b,  ^T,;  37 :  I,  5b,  6a,  7-10,  14-24.  To 
B  belong  32  :  2a,  3a,  17a,  11-16 ;  34 :  2-24,  26,  27  ;  35  :  15, 
16,  and  34:34-37.  The  rearrangement  of  the  material 
in  chs.  36  and  37  just  indicated  is  made  on  the  authority 
of  the  Septuagint  and  Sahidic  versions,  which  reveal  that 
the  rain-storm  psalm  and  a  part  of  the  poem  on  kings 
have  been  interpolated  here,  and  that  in  the  process  the 
original  order  has  been  destroyed.  In  ^2:  1-6  it  is  clear 
that  two  strands  have  not  only  been  woven  together,  but 
that  an  editorial  hand  has  expanded  the  result.  This 
hand  added  vs.  2b,  3b,  4,  and  5. 

It  is  probable  that  these  two  interpolators  did  their 
work  independently.  Their  tone  is  so  different  that  it  is 
inconceivable  that  one  of  them  intended  to  supplement 
the  other.  They  represent  two  different  attitudes  which 
the  orthodox  took  toward  the  book.  The  one,  B,  adds 
his  postscript  to  the  discussion  to  scornfully  condemn 
Job ;  the  other,  A,  seeks  by  a  more  gracious  handling  of 
the  theme  to  make  the  work  contribute  to  what  he  re- 
garded as  the  real  solution  of  the  problem  of  suffering. 
Probably  the  work  circulated  for  a  Httle  in  two  copies, 
each  of  which  contained  one  of  these  antidotes  to  the 
book's  heresy.  An  early  editor  wove  these  two  interpo- 
lations together,  thereby  mixing  the  two  antidotes  into  one. 

While  the  reasons  advanced  convince  the  present 
writer  that  the  Elihu  speeches  are  not  a  unity,  it  should 
be  noted  that  this  view  is  a  newer  one  than  the  view 
that  the  Elihu  material  is  interpolated,  and,  because  it 
has  not,  like  the  other  theory,  been  subjected  to  long 
criticism,  cannot  be  regarded  as  resting  on  as  secure  a 
basis. 

29 


INTRODUCTION 


3.  Other  Interpolations.  In  addition  to  the  Elihu 
speeches  two  other  passages  in  the  poem  are  regarded  by 
many  scholars  as  later  interpolations.  These  are  the 
praise  of  wisdom  in  ch.  28  and  the  description  of  behe- 
moth and  leviathan,  the  hippopotamus  and  the  crocodile, 
40:15-41:34.  These  passages  should  be  considered 
separately. 

(i)  The  praise  of  Wisdom  in  ch.  28  represents  a  very 
different  mood  and  point  of  view  from  that  portrayed  in 
the  chapters  on  each  side  of  it.  Job  in  27:1-6  had 
been  engaged  in  a  passionate  assertion  of  his  integrity; 
he  was  smarting  under  the  injustice  of  his  friends'  re- 
marks to  him.  In  29 :  2  ff.  his  thoughts  are  still  pas- 
sionately centered  upon  himself  as  he  pathetically  recalls 
the  former  joys  of  his  prosperous  Ufe  to  contrast  them 
with  his  present  desolation.  In  contrast  to  this  the 
mood  of  ch.  28  is  the  mood  of  calm  meditation.  The 
character  that  speaks  there  tells  all  he  knows  of  the 
marvels  of  the  processes  of  mining,  in  order  to  say  that, 
difficult  as  it  is  to  obtain  silver  and  gold,  it  is  still  more 
difficult  to  find  wisdom.  This  calm,  contemplative  mood 
in  which  one  recalls  strange  processes  in  long-drawn-out 
detail  is  entirely  out  of  harmony  with  Job's  mood  at  this 
stage  of  the  discussion. 

The  point  of  \dew  of  the  chapter  is  equally  foreign  to 
that  of  Job.  Job  had  up  to  this  point  been  earnestly 
protesting  against  the  way  in  which  God  had  ordered  his 
Ufe.  In  chs.  29-31  that  protest  still  continues.  Chapter 
28,  on  the  other  hand,  is  written  from  the  point  of  view  of 
one  who  acquiesces  in  the  will  of  God,  and  who  regards 
his  way  as  the  embodiment  of  the  suprem.est  wisdom. 
If  Job  had  reached  this  point  of  view  at  this  stage  of  the 
discussion,  the  speech  of  Jehovah  would  have  been  un- 
necessary. 

The  situation  is  not  much  relieved  if  we  regard  27 : 
7-23  as  a  speech  of  Zophar,  for  the  calm  tone  and  ex- 
alted poetry  of  ch.  28  are  equally  out  of  harmony  with 

30 


INTRODUCTION 


the  rabid  violence  of  the  speeches  of  Zophar.  We  are 
compelled,  therefore,  to  believe  that  this  chapter  is  a 
later  insertion  in  the  poem.  It  is  kindred  to  the  poetical 
praises  of  wisdom  in  Pr.  8  and  the  Wisdom  of  Solomon  7. 

Whether  this  praise  of  wisdom  was  taken  from  an- 
other work,  or  whether,  as  Duhm  has  suggested,  it  was 
an  independent  poem  complete  in  itself,  having  as  its 
refrain,  ''Whence  then  cometh  wisdom?"  we  cannot  say. 
If,  as  shown  above,  p.  21,  verses  14-19  are  a  later  ad- 
dition to  ch.  28,  the  symmetry  of  the  strophes  between 
the  recurring  refrain  is  somewhat  spoiled  and  the  prob- 
ability that  it  was  an  independent,  complete  whole  is 
lessened.  From  whatever  source  it  came,  though,  it  is 
certainly  foreign  to  the  book  of  Job.  This  fact,  however, 
in  no  way  detracts  from  the  intrinsic  beauty  of  the  chap- 
ter itself. 

(2)  Most  scholars  are  also  agreed  that  the  description 
of  behemoth  and  leviathan  in  40:15-41:34  is  a  later 
addition.  In  this  view  we  also  concur  for  the  following 
reasons :  (a)  The  description  of  these  animals  is  unsuited 
to  their  present  context  and  diverts  attention  from  the 
theme  in  hand.  The  second  address  of  Jehovah  to  Job, 
wliich  begins  in  40 : 6,  deals  with  the  fact  that  Job 
presumed  to  be  more  righteous  than  God.  He  had 
challenged  God's  righteousness,  and  by  doing  so  had  im- 
pHed  that  he  possessed  a  finer  sense  of  justice  than  God. 
The  critic  of  God  is  asked  to  put  himself  in  God's  place, 
to  humble  the  proud,  to  see  whether  he  can  bring  about 
a  more  just  rule  than  God;  then  suddenly  the  long  de- 
scription of  these  animals  follows.  Instead  of  asking  Job 
if  he  can  subdue  wicked  men,  God  appears  to  be  asking 
him  if  he  can  subdue  gigantic  brutes  who  have  nothing 
to  do  with  righteousness.  Then,  too,  the  description  of 
the  animals  is  so  long  that  the  memory  of  the  original 
question  is  lost.  The  description  greatly  weakens  the 
treatment  of  the  theme,  (b)  If  the  poet  had  composed 
this  description,  he  would  have  placed  these  animals  with 

31 


INTRODUCTION 


the  description  of  other  animals  in  ch.  39.  In  that  chap- 
ter such  descriptions  come  in  appropriately  and  reenforce 
the  argument;  here  they  detract  from  it.  (c)  The  long- 
drawn-out  and  labored  descriptions  in  this  passage  are  in 
striking  contrast  with  the  descriptions  of  ch.  39.  There 
a  few  poetic  lines  in  the  form  of  questions  make  the  hinds, 
the  wild  ass,  the  wild  ox,  the  ostrich,  the  horse,  and  the 
eagle  stand  out  in  lifelike  reality;  here  a  long  and  un- 
poetic  enumeration  of  details  produces  in  the  end  an  im- 
pressive picture,  but  the  effect  is  produced  by  methods 
so  different  and  so  inferior  that  it  is  hardly  possible  that 
the  same  writer  can  have  composed  them  both. 

4.  Editorial  Changes  in  Other  Parts  of  the  Book.  If  whole 
chapters  have  been  interpolated,  such  as  chs.  28,  32-37, 
and  40:  15-41:34,  is  the  remainder  of  the  poem  in  the 
form  in  which  it  left  the  hands  of  the  author  ?  In  reply 
it  should  be  said  that  with  the  exception  of  14 : 4;  22:8, 
17,  18,  which  seem  to  be  glosses,  there  is  no  reason  to 
question  that  up  to  the  end  of  ch.  23  the  poem  is,  apart 
from  textual  corruption,  as  the  poet  left  it.  In  ch.  24, 
however,  difficulties  present  them.selves.  Verses  5-8  of 
that  chapter  interrupt  Job's  description  of  the  doings  of 
a  certain  class  of  violent,  wicked  men,  who  kidnap  chil- 
dren and  make  them  slaves,  by  the  description  of  some 
poor,  wretched  outcasts,  who  would  be  powerless  to  harm 
any  one.  The  passage  is  certainly  out  of  place.  It  seems 
like  a  description  of  the  fate  of  the  wicked  made  by  one 
of  the  friends,  reminding  one  of  the  words  of  Bildad  in 

18:5  ff. 

Again,  it  should  be  noted  that  the  Septuagint  and  Sa- 
hidic  versions  omit  vs.  i4C-i8a,  and  that  vs.  17-22  and 
24  are  out  of  harmony  with  the  tenor  of  Job's  discourse 
and  are,  like  vs.  5-8,  quite  in  the  tone  of  Bildad.  This 
raises  a  somewhat  complicated  problem,  since  the  omis- 
sion of  the  Septuagint  does  not  coincide  with  the  portion 
which  is  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  Job.  Scholars  have, 
however,  recognized  that  14c  is  out  of  place,  and  it  is 

32 


INTRODUCTION 


probable  that  the  omission  was,  like  many  others,  made 
by  the  translator  of  the  Septuagint  in  the  effort  to  gain 
what  seemed  to  him  a  harmonious  text.  The  difference 
of  point  of  view  in  vs.  17-22,  24,  as  compared  with  the 
rest  of  the  chapter  and  their  likeness  to  the  trend  of  Bil- 
dad's  utterances  and  to  vs.  5-8,  lead  one  to  beHeve  that, 
like  those  verses,  they  were  taken  from  a  speech  of  this 
friend.  As  the  Septuagint  contains  vs.  5-8  and  vs. 
i8b-24,  it  is  probable  that  the  transfer  of  these  verses  to 
their  present  position  had  already  been  made  in  the 
exemplar  used  by  the  Septuagint  translator,  and  that  the 
omission  of  vs.  i4C-i8a  was  made  by  him  for  the  reason 
already  suggested. 

It  has  long  been  recognized  that  the  speech  of  Bildad 
in  ch.  25  is  far  too  short;  its  length  does  not  correspcfnd 
to  that  of  the  speeches  in  the  remainder  of  the  poem.  If, 
therefore,  the  parts  of  ch.  24  which  are  not  in  harmony 
with  their  context  can  be  fitted  on  to  it  in  such  a  way  as 
to  make  a  continuous  speech  which  in  tone  shall  accord 
with  the  general  point  of  view  of  Bildad,  we  may  feel  some 
confidence  that  we  have  recovered  what  was,  perhaps, 
the  poet's  original  order. 

Before  attempting  this,  however,  a  passage  of  similar 
tone  in  ch.  30,  which  is  also  out  of  harmony  with  its  con- 
text, must  be  considered.  Job  is  in  ch.  30  describing  how, 
in  contrast  to  his  former  dignity,  men  of  lower  station 
mock  at  him.  In  the  midst  of  this  description  vs.  s-^ 
introduce  a  description  of  some  outcasts  from  society  who 
lived  apart  from  men,  skulking  about  in  holes,  not  near 
enough  to  mock  at  Job  and  for  whose  scorn  one  even  in 
his  condition  would  not  care.  The  verses  are  quite  out 
of  place  where  they  stand,  but  would  well  continue  the 
description  of  the  fate  of  the  ignoble  wdcked  which  we 
have  already  found  in  24 :  5-8.  It  is  probable  that  they 
belonged  to  the  same  context  originally. 

Accordingly  we  tentatively  reconstruct  Bildad's  third 
speech  as  follows:  25:1-6;  24:17,  18,  5-8;  30:3-8; 
»  33 


INTRODUCTION 


24:  21,  2  2,  19,  20,  24.  For  a  connected  translation  of  the 
passages,  see  note  on  25:6.  Reconstructed  in  this  way 
the  last  address  of  Bildad  began  with  a  statement  of  the 
exaltation  and  awe-inspiring  majesty  of  God.  With  this 
he  proceeded  to  contrast  the  wormlike  condition  of  men. 
The  iigure  of  the  worm  suggested  the  way  the  low-born 
or  unfortunate  wicked  are  driven  forth  by  God  to  drag 
out  a  miserable  existence  in  deserts  or  out-of-the-way 
places.  He  then  returns  for  a  moment  to  describe  the 
brief,  prosperous  career  of  successful  sinners  (24:  21,  22) 
and  closes  with  a  statement  of  the  swift  destruction  of  all 
sinners. 

We  thus  gain  a  characteristic  and  consistent  speech  for 
Bildad.  The  portions  of  chs.  24  and  30  which  remain 
are  consistent  speeches  of  Job  quite  in  his  usual  vein  in 
this  part  of  the  book.  The  reader  can  test  this  for  him- 
self in  ch.  30  by  reading  it  without  vs.  3-8;  he  may 
also  find  the  parts  of  ch.  24  which  belong  to  that  speech 
of  Job  connectedly  translated  in  the  note  on  24 :  25.  Job 
is  in  one  of  his  bitterest  and  most  discontented  moods ; 
he  begins  by  declaring  that  we  cannot  understand  God's 
ways.  Oppressors  remove  landmarks,  wrong  the  orphan, 
the  widow,  and  the  poor,  kidnap  children  and  make 
slaves  of  them.  Murderers,  adulterers,  and  thieves  prowl 
about  at  night,  and  God  gives  them  security.  He  con- 
cludes with  the  challenge:  ''If  it  isn't  so,  who  will  prove 
me  a  liar?"  It  was  this  speech  which  led  Bildad  to  dwell 
on  God's  purity  and  majesty  at  the  beginning  of  ch.  25. 

One  cannot  read  ch.  24  relieved  of  its  extraneous  ma- 
terial without  perceiving  how  greatly  the  address  of  Job 
gains  in  point  and  in  power  by  the  removal  of  the 
contradictory  matter.  Whether  we  have  rightly  recon- 
structed the  speech  of  Bildad  or  not  (and  our  recon- 
struction is,  of  course,  purely  tentative),  we  are  certainly 
right  in  thus  restoring  Job's  argument  here. 

When  Job's  speech  in  ch.  24  is  thus  recovered,  it  be- 
comes clear  why  material  was  taken  away  from  Bildad 

34 


INTRODUCTION 


with  which  to  dilute  it.  It  could  only  seem  to  orthodox 
editors  brutally  blasphemous. 

It  should  be  noted  here  that,  instead  of  reconstructing 
Bildad's  third  speech  out  of  chs.  24  and  30  as  we  have 
done,  many  scholars  reconstruct  it  out  of  ch.  26.  Indeed 
this  is  the  favorite  method  with  those  who  attempt  its 
reconstruction  at  all.  In  favor  of  this  procedure  the 
names  of  Grill,  Kuenen,  Bickell,  Duhm,  Peake,  and 
McFadyen  may  be  quoted.  Marshall,  like  the  others, 
couples  the  two  chapters,  but  thinks  that  they  form  a 
speech  of  Zophar.  With  none  of  these  scholars  can  we 
agree.  Zophar's  third  speech  is,  as  we  shall  see,  embedded 
now  in  ch.  27,  but  ch.  26  seems  clearly  to  belong  to  Job. 

It  has  been  claimed  that  it  is  out  of  harmony  with 
Job's  present  mood,  but  that  statement  does  not  appear 
to  be  well  founded.  Job  in  ch.  24  had  not  said  that 
God  would  favor  the  wicked  man ;  he  had  said  that  God's 
ways  are  hidden  from  man,  that  man  does  not  see  God's 
day,  and  that  for  the  present  God  gives  the  wicked  se- 
curity. The  whole  speech  was  an  irritable  and  suffering 
invalid's  statement  of  the  irritating  side  of  the  fact  that 
we  cannot  understand  the  ways  of  God.  In  ch.  26  Job 
takes  up  the  same  theme  again.  He  enlarges  upon  God's 
greatness  and  power,  declaring  that  we  see  the  outskirts 
of  his  wa3^s  only,  but  that  no  one  can  understand  the 
greatness  of  his  power.  Upon  this  same  thought  Job  had 
dwelt  in  chs.  7,  9,  12  with  indignation,  because  of  the 
treatment  which  he  was  receiving  at  the  hands  of  God; 
here  his  thought  is  slightly  more  calm,  because  his  mind 
is  for  the  moment  turning  a  little  away  from  himself. 

The  general  thought  is  not,  therefore,  inconsistent  in 
the  mouth  of  Job,  and  the  argument  from  the  poetry  and 
the  allusions  is  in  favor  of  assigning  the  speech  to  him. 
The  poet  places  his  greatest  poetry  in  Job's  mouth. 
Bildad  is  a  commonplace  man,  as  he  is  portrayed,  and 
deals  in  commonplace  thoughts.  Zophar  is  a  rough, 
ruthless  fellow,  the  strains  of  whose  speech  are  uniformly 

35 


INTRODUCTION 


harsh.  Chapter  26  is  neither  commonplace  nor  harsh. 
It  is  a  magnificent  flight  of  imagination  vigorously  and 
poetically  expressed.  Its  vigorous  figures  are  many  of 
them  borrowed  from  the  Babylonian  Creation  Epic  (see 
notes).  These  allusions  give  great  vigor  to  the  poetry 
wherever  we  find  them.  Elsewhere  the  poet  puts  allu- 
sions to  that  Epic  into  the  mouth  of  Job  only  (see  chs.  3 
and  9),  and  this  is  a  strong  argument  for  supposing  that 
he  wrote  ch.  26  for  the  lips  of  Job  also.  We  accordingly 
conclude  that  the  poet  intended  ch.  26  as  Job's  reply  to 
Bildad's  third  speech. 

Passing  now  to  ch.  27,  it,  like  ch.  24,  contains  consider- 
able material  which  is  unsuited  to  Job's  whole  point  of 
view.  This  material  is  found  in  vs.  7-1 1,  13-23,  and,  as 
Stuhlmann,  Kuenen,  Bickell,  Duhm,  Peake,  and  McFadyen 
agree,  this  material  constituted  the  third  speech  of  Zophar. 
It  is  impossible  that  it  should  have  been  uttered  by  Job 
unless  he  renounced  altogether  the  point  of  view  held  by 
him  both  before  and  afterwards ;  it  is,  on  the  other  hand, 
quite  in  the  style  of  Zophar. 

This  speech  of  Zophar  originally  followed  ch.  26,  while 
Job's  last  address  to  the  friends  and  appeal  to  Jehovah 
was  composed  of  27:1-6,  12;  29:2-25;  30:1,  2,  9-31; 
31 : 1-34,  38-40,  35-37- 

When  the  original  order  of  these  chapters  is  restored 
and  the  various  interpolations  are  removed,  it  appears 
that  the  form  of  the  poem  was  symmetrical  to  the  end, 
and  that  the  artist  who  composed  it  exhibited  to  the  very 
last  his  masterly  skill  —  indeed  some  of  the  finest  mani- 
festations of  that  skill  came  at  the  end  of  the  work.  It 
is  only  due  to  later  editors  that  that  skill  is  not  now 
patent  to  every  reader  of  the  book. 

The  motive  of  this  editorial  work  is  not  far  to  seek. 
The  poet  had  made  Job  a  relentless  critic  of  orthodox 
opinion  and  even  of  God,  and  yet  had  allowed  the  epilogue 
to  say  that  his  course  was  more  pleasing  to  Jehovah  than 
that  of  the  friends  who  had  defended  orthodox  views  and 

36 


INTRODUCTION 


had  championed  God.  Such  literature  seemed  to  ortho- 
dox readers  of  the  book  most  irreverent,  and  this  transfer 
of  material  from  the  speeches  of  the  friends  to  those  of 
Job  was  no  doubt  undertaken  in  order  to  make  it  appear 
that  he  came  around  to  the  orthodox  point  of  view,  at 
least  in  some  degree.  In  other  words  the  motive  was  the 
same  as  that  which  led  to  the  Elihu  interpolation  —  to 
break  the  force  of  the  great  heresy  of  the  poem. 

The  Art  of  the  Book 

The  book  of  Job  has  sometimes  been  called  a  drama. 
If  by  this  designation  it  is  intended  to  class  the  poem 
with  the  dramas  of  Shakespeare  or  Euripides,  the  term  is 
a  misnomer.  There  is  not  in  Job  the  action  and  the 
development  of  a  plot  necessary  to  a  drama.  A  drama 
intended  for  acting  would  never  have  had  all  the  actors 
sitting  on  a  dunghill  throughout  the  play  and  moving 
only  their  tongues  !  The  ancient  Semitic  world  had  no 
drama;  even  the  Song  of  Songs  is  not  an  exception. 
Such  dramatic  elements  as  the  poem  of  Job  possesses  are 
inherent  in  all  Oriental  life.  The  Orientals  are  much  more 
expressive  than  we  of  the  West.  All  their  speech  and 
gestures  have  an  element  which  appears  to  an  Occidental 
dramatic.  Job  is  a  dramatic  poem  only  in  the  sense  that 
it  is  true  to  Oriental  life;  but  it  is  not  a  drama  in  the 
sense  that  it  develops  a  plot  which  can  be  revealed  by 
action.  The  poem  depicts  the  growth  of  a  soul  when 
tried  by  suffering.  Genung  has  happily  named  it  "The 
Epic  of  the  Inner  Life."  It  is  a  powerful  and  artistic 
portrayal  of  the  struggles  of  such  a  soul,  of  its  wild  and 
unreasonable  arraignment  of  life  as  it  suffers  acutely  and 
its  suffering  is  aggravated  by  disordered  nerves  (see,  e.g.j 
ch.  3) ;  of  the  way  a  vigorous  intellect,  quickened  by 
suffering,  brushes  aside  false  and  inadequate  theology  and 
seeks  to  ground  itself  upon  reality ;  how  such  a  soul,  as  it 
is  driven  to  accuse  Providence  of  injustice,  is  as  inevitably 

37 


INTRODUCTION 


driven,  if  it  is  thoroughgoing,  to  find  its  one  hope  of  justice 
in  God,  there  being  no  refuge  from  God  but  God;  how 
the  inadequacy  of  the  present  hfe  for  a  reasonable  the- 
odicy leads  to  faith  in  a  hereafter ;  and,  finally,  how  the 
mystic  experience  of  God  is  the  one  solution  for  life's 
baffling  problems. 

The  poet  possessed  the  splendid  artistic  genius  which 
touches  the  common  things  of  life  and  transfigures  them. 
Like  all  who  live  in  Palestine,  he  was  familiar  with  farm- 
ing, cattle  raising,  the  reaping  of  grain,  the  winnow- 
ing of  wheat.  The  struggle  of  the  weary  slave  through 
the  long  hot  day's  work,  the  calving  of  the  hinds,  the 
patience  of  the  ox  in  the  furrow,  become  in  his  hands 
luminous  pictures  of  the  toil  and  sorrows  of  man.  He 
was  an  acute  observer  of  nature.  The  calamity  which 
the  drying  up  of  a  spring  brings,  the  suggestiveness  of  the 
way  the  roots  of  trees  seek  water  and  the  roots  of  an  old 
stump  send  up  sprouts,  the  marvels  of  thundercloud  and 
snowflake,  all  become  in  his  hands  beautiful  figures ;  and 
their  own  wonder  and  beauty  seem  the  greater  as  the 
poet's  fine  presentation  of  them  makes  them  revealers  of 
things  human  and  divine.  With  a  few  powerful  words  he 
makes  the  wild  ox,  the  wild  ass,  the  ostrich,  and  the  horse 
stand  before  us,  each  caught  in  a  characteristic  attitude, 
as  though  by  an  instantaneous  photograph.  Clouds 
floating  in  the  sky  are  like  bottles  filled  with  water.  The 
dawn  is  a  beautiful  woman  peeping  over  the  hills;  the 
rays  of  light  are  her  eyelashes. 

The  book  is  studded  with  exquisite  figures,  and  the 
speech  of  Jehovah  is,  for  sustained  dignity  and  beauty, 
unsurpassed  in  the  world's  Hterature.  It  is  the  product 
of  the  highest  genius. 

The  poet  has  devoted  his  best  efforts  to  the  speeches  of 
Job  and  Jehovah.  These  contain  his  finest  poetry,  and 
in  depicting  the  character  of  Job  his  skill  in  catching  the 
mixture  of  good  and  bad,  sane  and  foolish  in  an  invahd 
who  has  a  really  noble  nature,  is  masterly.     The  char- 

38 


INTRODUCTION 


acters  of  the  friends  are  less  well  done.  They  interested 
the  poet  less.  Nevertheless  each  of  them  stands  out  with 
an  individuahty  of  his  own:  EHphaz,  the  dignified  ortho- 
dox wise  man,  who  has  just  a  touch  of  mysticism ;  Bildad, 
the  commonplace  mind  who  finds  in  the  out- worn  proverbs 
of  the  past  the  basis  of  hfe's  philosophy;  and  Zophar, 
the  rough  debater,  who  cares  less  for  the  form  of  his 
argument  or  for  the  feelings  of  his  friend  than  he  does  for 
carrying  his  point. 

The  book  of  Job  is  one  of  the  world's  masterpieces. 
It  stands  beside  the  greatest  of  the  works  of  ^schylus, 
Sophocles,  or  Euripides,  or  Dante's  Divina  Comedia,  or 
Goethe's  Faust  as  an  immortal  portrayal  of  the  struggles 
of  the  soul. 

Date  of  the  Poem 

It  is  no  longer  necessary  to  discuss  seriously  the  Tal- 
mudic  opinion  (Baba  Bathra,  15a),  which  was  also 
shared  by  the  translators  of  the  Syriac  Bible,  that  the 
poem  of  Job  was  written  by  Moses.  Critical  and  his- 
torical study  has  made  it  quite  clear  that  the  problems 
discussed  in  this  poem  were  not  yet  problems  in  that  early 
time.  The  elements  in  the  language  and  coloring  of  the 
poem  which  were  formerly  thought  to  confirm  that  opinion 
are  now  seen  to  be  in  part  due  to  the  skill  of  the  poet  in 
adapting  his  picture  to  the  supposed  situation.  The 
linguistic  indications  are  now  understood  to  be  incon- 
sistent with  this  view  and  to  point  to  a  later  date. 

The  points  of  contact  with  the  book  of  Deuteronomy 
(compare  Job  24 :  2  with  Deut.  19  :  14;  27  :  17  ;  Job  31 :  26 
with  Deut.  4:19;  17:3-7,  and  Job  31:9  with  Deut. 
22:22)  point  conclusively  to  a  date  for  Job  later  than 
Josiah's  reform  in  the  year  621  B.C. 

In  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge  a  date  earher 
than  Jeremiah  is  out  of  the  question.  The  poem  is 
written  from  an  absolutely  monotheistic  standpoint. 
There  is  no  hint  in  it  that  there  can  be  any  god  but  One. 

39 


INTRODUCTION 


Amos  was  a  practical  monotheist,  it  is  true,  but  Jeremiah 
was  the  first  to  definitely  declare  that  heathen  deities 
were  mere  figments  of  the  imagination  (Jer.  8 :  19;  10 :  14, 
15;  14:  22).  The  poem  is  also  written  from  a  purely  in- 
dividuaHstic  standpoint.  It  discusses  the  problem,  Why 
does  the  righteous  individual  suffer?  Such  a  discussion 
seems  hardly  possible  before  the  time  of  Jeremiah  and 
Ezekiel.  The  earlier  point  of  view  had  been  national. 
Amos,  Hosea,  and  Isaiah  speak  of  national  sins.  In  their 
preaching  the  sins  of  the  individual  gain  significance  as 
they  affect  the  fortunes  of  the  nation.  When  the  nation 
was  not  the  moral  unit,  that  unit  was  the  family,  as  in 
the  story  of  Achan  (Josh.  7).  Jeremiah  was  the  first  to 
declare  the  individual  the  moral  unit  (Jer.  31:31),  and 
Ezekiel  had  explained  and  enforced  the  provision  at 
length  (Eze.  18).  The  influence  of  this  prophetic  teach- 
ing led  to  the  insertion  of  a  statement  of  the  principle  in 
Deut.  24 :  16,  but  the  insertion  is  later  than  the  code,  as 
it  interrupts  the  context  in  which  it  now  stands.  The 
general  outlook  of  our  poem  upon  religious  and  moral 
problems  places  it,  accordingly,  at  once  either  in  or  after 
the  Babylonian  Exile.  This  general  outlook  is  confirmed 
by  the  fact  that  the  poem  (Job  3:  3  i^.  and  10 :  18)  is  de- 
pendent upon  Jer.  20 :  14-18. 

The  great  prophet  of  the  Exile,  the  author  of  Isa.  40- 
55,  discusses,  as  does  the  author  of  Job,  the  problem  of 
suffering.  The  relation  of  these  two  discussions  to  one 
another  should  be  a  factor  in  determining  the  date. 
There  are  a  number  of  points  of  close  similarity  in  thought 
and  phrasing  between  the  two  works.  Compare  Job  14 :  2 
with  Isa.  40:7;  Job  9:8  with  Isa.  44:24;  Job  15:35 
with  Isa.  59  :  4;  Job  13  :  28  with  Isa.  50 :  9  and  51 :  8;  Job 
26:  12  with  Isa.  51 :  9;  and  Job  30:  21  with  Isa.  63  :  10. 
It  is  impossible,  however,  from  these  passages  to  reach  a 
definite  conclusion.  The  allusions  are  for  one  reason  or 
another  indeterminate.  No  clear  literary  dependence  of 
one  writer  on  the  other  can  be  asserted. 

40 


INTRODUCTION 


Broadly  considered,  the  two  works  have  much  in  com- 
mon. The  suffering  Job  as  presented  by  the  poet  is  strik- 
ingly similar  to  the  suffering  Servant  whom  the  prophet 
portrays.  Nevertheless  a  closer  examination  shows  that 
there  are  fundamental  differences.  The  Servant  is  a 
national  figure  —  the  personified  nation.  His  sufferings 
are  the  sufferings  of  the  nation;  Job  is  an  individual. 
The  sufferings  of  the  Servant  are  vicarious,  by  means  of 
them  the  Gentiles  are  to  be  brought  to  God ;  there  is  in 
Job  no  hint  at  vicarious  suffering.  It  might  be  argued 
that  Job  is  earHer  than  the  Second  Isaiah  because  if  he 
had  known  the  explanation  of  suffering  which  the  vica- 
rious view  offers,  he  would  have  used  it.  This  argument 
is,  however,  inconclusive.  In  one  sense  the  poet  does 
make  use  of  vicarious  suffering.  By  allowing  the  prologue 
to  stand  (or  possibly  by  himself  shaping  part  of  the  pro- 
logue into  its  present  form)  he  has  let  the  reader  into  the 
secret  that  Job  is  suffering  in  reality  for  the  conversion  of 
Satan.  To  this  extent  he  has  made  use  of  the  principle 
of  vicarious  suffering.  The  idea,  however,  forms  no 
part  of  his  plan;  it  is  simply  an  incident.  He  never 
returns  to  tell  us  whether  Satan  was  convinced,  and  he 
pictures  Job  as  quite  ignorant  of  the  purpose  of  his  suffer- 
ings. Job  struggles  on,  growing  in  soul  as  he  struggles, 
reaches  the  port  of  calm  peace  through  the  mystic  vision 
of  God,  and  at  the  end  never  guesses  that  he  has  suffered 
vicariously.  This  solution  was,  accordingly,  no  real 
solution  to  our  poet.  It  might  well  seem  to  the 
prophet  that  the  sufferings  of  the  one  nation  that 
knew  the  true  God  were  intended  to  benefit  other 
nations,  while  the  poet  may  have  seen  in  the  vicarious 
theory  no  adequate  moral  explanation  of  the  suffer- 
ings of  an  indi\ddual.  The  fact  that  he  did  not  make 
larger  use  of  the  vicarious  principle  does  not  prove  that 
he  was  not  familiar  with  it,  but  only  that  it  did  not 
appeal  to  him.  There  is,  then,  no  reason  for  not  dating 
the  poem  later  than    the    Second    Isaiah,   if  other  evi- 

41 


INTRODUCTION 


dence  shall  justify  such  a  date.  There  seems  to  be  such 
evidence. 

In  Job  12 :  17-19  there  is  apparently  a  reference  to  the 
carrying  away  of  kings,  counsellors,  and  priests  at  the  time 
of  the  Babylonian  Exile.  While  this  allusion  would  not 
necessarily  place  the  poem  later  than  the  Second  Isaiah, 
the  calm  and  dispassionate  way  in  which  the  allusion  is 
made  indicates  that  the  event  had  become  somewhat 
remote  in  time.  Some  have  thought  to  find  in  Job  12:7- 
10  an  allusion  to  the  P  document  (Gen.  i :  20,  25),  but 
while  it  is  possible  that  there  is  such  allusion,  the  language 
is  too  vague  to  make  it  certain.  If  such  an  allusion  could 
be  proven,  it  would  show  that  the  composition  of  Job  is 
later  than  450  B.C. 

A  more  decisive  reference  is  found  in  Job  7:17,  where 
it  seems  clear  that  we  have  a  parody  of  the  language  of 
Ps.  8 :  5.  It  is  now  generally  recognized  that  the  Psalter 
was  compiled  to  be  the  hymn-book  of  the  second  temple, 
and  the  first  book  of  Psalms  (3-41)  was  in  all  probability 
collected  in  the  time  of  Nehemiah  and  Ezra.  A  parody 
on  the  familiar  words  of  a  well-known  hymn  points,  ac- 
cordingly, to  a  date  later  than  444  B.C.  The  force  of  this 
argument  is  confirmed  by  another  consideration.  The  8th 
Psalm  is  so  similar  in  tone  and  point  of  view  to  the  little 
fragment  which  now  forms  vs.  1-6  of  Psalm  19,  and 
which  is  clearly  out  of  place  there,  that  it  is  clear  that  the 
two  are  of  the  same  date,  if  not  originally  parts  of  one 
psalm.  Since  it  has  long  been  recognized  that  Ps.  19:2 
by  the  use  of  the  word  "firmament"  is  posterior  to  the  P 
document,  or  at  the  earliest  contemporary  with  it,  it  be- 
comes increasingly  probable  that  the  Psalm  to  which  Job 
makes  allusion  is  not  earher  than  about  450  B.C. 

We  are  thus  led  to  date  Job  about  400  B.C.,  and  this  date 
is  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  the  book  of  Malachi,  which 
dates  from  about  400,  proves  that  the  problem  discussed 
in  Job,  as  to  whether  God  does  reward  the  righteous  with 
prosperity  in  this  life  and  punish  the  wicked  by  adversity, 

42 


INTRODUCTION 


was  at  that  period  an  acute  one;  see  Mai.  1:2;  2 :  17; 
and  3:  13-15. 

This  date  is  confirmed  by  two  other  considerations. 
Satan,  who  appears  in  the  prologue,  is  in  Hebrew  thought 
a  post-Exilic  figure.  He  is  mentioned  elsewhere  only  in 
post-Exilic  works,  viz.  Zech.  3  :  i  and  i  Chr.  21:1.  In 
the  earher  time  the  Hebrews  had  been  such  thorough 
monotheists  that  they  needed  no  Satan;  Jehovah  had, 
they  thought,  done  everything.  Amos  says  (ch.  3:6), 
''Shall  evil  befall  a  city,  and  Jehovah  hath  not  done  it?" 
Another  example  of  the  same  thing  is  found  in  i  Kgs.  22 : 
19-23.  While  there  are,  as  we  have  already  noted,  ele- 
ments of  thought  in  the  prologue  which  point  to  pre- 
Exilic  times,  it  is  altogether  probable  that  this  figure  of 
Satan  was  introduced  into  the  story  after  the  Exile,  and, 
perhaps,  by  the  poet  himself. 

Another  mark  of  post- Exilic  date  is  the  strong  Aramaic 
coloring  of  the  language.  Aramaic  words  are  scattered 
throughout  the  poem,  although  most  numerous  in  the 
Elihu  interpolations.  But  the  days  of  classical  Hebrew 
had  passed  before  Job  was  composed,  and  the  Aramaic 
which  ultimately  supplanted  the  Hebrew  was  beginning 
to  make  itself  felt. 

There  is  no  good  reason  for  placing  the  composition  of 
Job  at  a  later  date  than  about  400.  In  the  likenesses 
between  Job  and  later  parts  of  the  Psalter  {e.g.  Job  7 :  10 
and  Ps.  103  :  16;  Job  12:21,  24  and  Ps.  107 :  40,  42),  the 
Psalmists  are  probably  dependent  upon  Job  and  not  Job 
on  the  Psalms.  The  likenesses  between  Job  and  the  book 
of  Proverbs  are  all  indeterminate  as  to  priority.  Compare 
Job  15 :  7  with  Pr.  8:25;  Job  18 :  5,  6  and  21 :  17  with 
Pr.  13  :  9  and  24 :  20;  and  Job  29  :  23,  24  with  Pr.  16 :  15. 
In  no  instance  is  it  clear  that  Job  is  dependent  upon  our 
book  of  Proverbs.  If  it  be  thought  that  he  quoted  prov- 
erbs, it  must  be  remembered  that  the  individual  proverbs 
are  much  older  than  the  present  collection,  and  such 
quotation  from  Pr.  10-22  might  well  have  been  made  from 

43 


INTRODUCTION 


floating  sa3dngs  and  not  from  our  book.  The  case  is  some- 
what different  when  we  come  to  the  connected  discourse 
material  of  Pr.  1-9,  which  is  generally  recognized  as  the 
latest  portion  of  Proverbs.  The  one  allusion  to  that  in 
the  genuine  work  of  our  poet  is  indeterminate.  It  is  by 
no  means  clear  that  he  knew  Pr.  8:25.  The  likenesses 
between  Job  28 :  15-19  and  Pr.  3 :  14  and  8 :  11,  19  need 
not  come  into  consideration  here,  for,  as  already  shown, 
ch.  28  is  a  later  interpolation. 

A  view  which  is  as  old  as  Theodore  of  Mopsuestia.^ 
who  died  about  428  a.d.,  that  Job  was  written  late  enough 
to  be  influenced  by  Greek  literary  forms  and  by  Greek 
philosophic  thought  and  that  the  use  of  dialogue  is  due 
to  Greek  influence,  has  been  advocated  in  modern  times  by 
Holtzmann,2  Siegfried,^  and  Friedlander.^  The  last-men- 
tioned writer  dates  Job  about  200  B.C.,  while  Siegfried 
thinks  that  Job  15 :  20  ff.  alludes  to  the  fate  of  Alexander 
Jannaeus,  who  died  in  79  B.C.  This  view  has  rightly  met 
with  little  favor  among  Old  Testament  scholars.  The 
view  that  the  use  of  dialogue  is  due  to  Egyptian  influence  ^ 
rests  on  no  more  secure  foundation.® 

By  the  time  that  Ecclesiasticus  or  the  Wisdom  of  the  Son 
of  Sirach  was  composed,  about  180  B.C.,  Job  was  already  a 
canonical  book,  for  Sirach  (49  :  9  Hebrew  text)  includes  Job 
in  his  list  of  famous  men,  bringing  him  in  between  Ezekiel 
and  the  twelve  minor  prophets  in  a  way  which  shows 
that  he  was  gathering  the  names  of  books  which  had  a 
sacred,  or  semicanonical,  if  not  a  canonical,  character. 

Such  considerations  as  these  have  led  many  recent  com- 
mentators to  date  the  poem  about  400  B.C.  The  Elihu 
speeches  and  other  interpolations  were  probably  added 

1  Cf.  Migne,  LXVI,  cols.  697,  698. 

2  In  Stade's  Geschickte  des  Volkes  Israel,  II,  348-352. 
»  Cf.  Jewish  Encyclopedia,  VII,  197. 

*  See  his  Griechische  Philosophie  in  Alien  Testament,  Berlin,  1904,  pp.  90-130. 

*  See  Gunkel,  Zum  religionsgeschichtlichen  Verstandniss  des  Neuen  Testament,  Got- 
tingen,  1903,  p,  27. 

8  Cf.   Clemen,    Religionsgeschichtliche  Erkldrung   des  Neuen   Testaments,  Giessen, 
1909,  p.  137. 

44 


INTRODUCTION 


within  the  next  century,  for  the  time  to  antagonize  such 
a  work  would  be  soon  after  its  appearance,  when  the  im- 
pact of  its  thought  was  fresh,  and  before  a  considerable 
degree  of  antiquity  had  rendered  it  sacred. 

The  Author 

The  author  of  Job  counted  Job  among  the  children  of 
the  East  (1:3).  The  author  himself,  then,  lived  in  west- 
ern Palestine.  If  he  wrote  after  the  Exile,  his  home  was 
somewhere  in  Judah.  He  was  a  man  of  wide  experience 
of  life  and  of  keen  observation.  His  sympathy  with 
hired  servants  who  work  in  the  fields  under  a  scorching 
sun  (7:1,  2)  makes  it  probable  that  he  had  known  at 
some  time  such  toil  from  experience.  His  familiarity  with 
the  ways  of  trade  (17:3)  suggests  that  he  had  been  at 
one  time  engaged  in  it,  and  his  vivid  realization  of  the 
vicissitudes  of  caravan  life  makes  it  probable  that  he  had 
engaged  in  caravan  trading.  On  his  journeys  he  had  seen 
the  wady-streams  turbid  with  snow  and  ice  (6 :  16),  and 
at  other  times  had  suffered  from  the  intolerable  thirst 
which  at  the  end  of  a  long  hot  day  afiOiicts  those  who 
find  the  stream  dry  by  which  they  had  planned  to  en- 
camp (see  Barton,  Wandering  in  Bible  Lands,  pp.  215  ff.). 
He  had  travelled  as  far  as  the  sea,  and  its  restless  and 
powerful  waves  had  impressed  him  as  the  embodiment  of 
pride  (38:8,  11).  He  had  in  his  trading  travelled  to 
Egypt,  had  been  enough  impressed  by  the  papyrus  and 
reed  grass  that  he  saw  there  to  borrow  an  Egyptian 
proverb  about  them  (8:  11).  The  papyrus  boats  on  the 
Nile  had  also  attracted  him  (9 :  26)  and  he  had  borrowed 
an  Egyptian  word  for  ''girdle"  (12:  21).  Wherever  he 
had  travelled  he  had  been  keenly  ahve  to  nature.  The 
beauties  of  dawn,  the  splendor  of  the  thunder-storm,  the 
ways  of  animals  and  men  in  the  desert  places  of  the  earth 
(39  •  5-30 ;  24 :  5-8)  had  impressed  him  and  called  forth 
his  sympathy. 

45 


INTRODUCTION 


More  important  than  the  events  of  his  outward  Hfe  is 
the  fact  that  he  had  pondered  deeply  the  problem  of  the 
moral  and  rehgious  order  of  the  world.  Unable  to  be 
satisfied  with  the  ready-made  and  easy  solutions  of  his 
time,  he  mercilessly  exposed  them  in  his  poem,  suggesting, 
as  we  have  seen,  in  a  most  artistic  way  a  religious  instead 
of  an  intellectual  solution  of  them.  In  poetic  power  and 
moral  insight  this  man,  who  must  to  us  remain  nameless, 
takes  his  position  beside  the  greatest  of  our  kind. 

Detailed  Analysis  of  the  Argument 

I.   The  Prologue;  chs.  i,  2. 

(i)   The  station,  character,  and  family  of  Job; 
1 : 1-5. 

(2)  The  first  heavenly  conference  at  which  Job's 

trials  were  ordained;    1:6-12. 

(3)  The  first  series  of  disasters ;    i :  13-19. 

(4)  Job's    demeanor    under    these    misfortunes; 

1 :  20-22. 

(5)  The  second  heavenly  conference ;    2  :  1-6. 

(6)  The  second  test  and  its  outcome ;   2  :  7-10. 

(7)  The  coming  of  Job's  three  friends ;   2  :  11-13. 

II.  Job's  wail  of  despair ;  ch.  3. 

(i)   Would  God  I  had  never  been  born ;  3  :  i-io. 

(2)  Would  God  I  had  died  at  birth;   3  :  11-19. 

(3)  Why  is  death   denied  to   the  wretched  ?   3 : 

20-26. 

III.  The  great  debate  on  suffering;   chs.  4-31. 
I.   The  first  speech  of  EHphaz;  chs.  4,  5. 

(i)   The  surprise  of  EUphaz  at   Job's  despair; 
4:  i-ii. 

(2)  The  holiness  of   God  and  his  creatures  con- 

trasted; 4 :  12-21. 

(3)  Eliphaz  applies  the  principle  to  Job ;    5  :  1-7. 

(4)  Job  should    seek   God  whose    chastisements 

lead  to  richer  blessing;  5:8-27. 
46 


INTRODUCTION 


2.  Job's  first  reply  to  Eliphaz;   chs.  6,  7. 

(i)  Job  justifies  the  violence  of  his  complaint; 
6 :  1-13. 

(2)  Expresses  disappointment  at   the  attitude  of 

his  friends ;  6  :  14-30. 

(3)  Renews   his   outburst,  complaining   that,  in 

addition  to  the  hardships  suffered  by  all 
men,  God  is  cruelly  tormenting  him ;  7 : 
1-21. 

3.  Bildad's  first  speech ;  ch.  8. 

(i)   The  discriminating  fairness  of  God ;    8 : 1-7. 

(2)  The  moral  wisdom  of  the  ancients ;    8 :  8-19. 

(3)  Bildad's  summary  of  the  case;   8:  20-22. 

4.  Job's  first  reply  to  Bildad ;  chs.  9,  10. 

(i)  The  greatness  and  terribleness  of  God  pre- 
vent a  man  from  establishing  his  innocence ; 
ch.  9. 

(2)  Job  appeals  to  God  to  know  how  his  suffer- 
ings are  consistent  with  the  divine  nature ; 
ch.  10. 

5.  Zophar's  first  speech ;  ch.  11. 

(i)  Would  that  God  would  really  answer  Job; 
II :  2-6. 

(2)  Zophar  praises  God's  wisdom;    11 :  7-12. 

(3)  He  exhorts  Job ;   11 :  13-20. 

6.  Job's  first  reply  to  Zophar;    chs.  12-14. 

(i)  Job's  irony  as  to  the  wisdom  of  his  friends; 
12 :  1-6. 

(2)  All  creation  testifies  to  God's  almighty  rule; 

12 :  7-10. 

(3)  No  one  can  resist  God's  might;   12  :  13-25. 

(4)  Job's  attitude  towards  government  is  superior 

to  that  of  the  friends;    13  :  1-12. 

(5)  In  spite  of  God's  greatness  Job  will  speak  his 

mind;    13  :  13-22. 

(6)  Job  would  know  with  what  sins  God  charges 

him;   13  :  23-28. 
47 


INTRODUCTION 


(7)  The  brevity  of  man's  days ;    14 :  1-6. 

(8)  Trees  more  immortal  than  men ;    14  :  7-12. 

(9)  Job  longs  for  life  after  death,  that  he  may 

meet  God;   14:13-17. 

(10)  This  longing  is  hopeless;    14:18-22. 

7.  The  second  speech  of  EUphaz;    ch.  15. 

(i)    Eliphaz  reproves  and  convicts  Job  ;  15  :  1-16. 
(2)   He  quotes  the  wise  as  to  the  condition  of  the 
wicked;   15:  17-35. 

8.  Job's  second  reply  to  Eliphaz;   chs.  16,  17. 
(i)   Job  is  weary  of  vain  talk ;  16:1-5. 

(2)  He  asserts  his  behef  that  God  is  permanently 

hostile  to  him ;   16:6-17. 

(3)  Faith  in  God  and  the  vaHdity  of  righteous- 

ness struggles  through  his  storm  of  feeUng ; 
16:  18-17 :  9. 

(4)  Nevertheless  he  expects  Sheol  only ;  17  :  10-16. 

9.  Bildad's  second  speech ;  ch.  18. 

(i)    Why  does  Job  treat   his  friends  wdth  such 

contempt?  18 :  1-4. 
(2)   The  terrible  fate  of  the  wicked ;   18  :  5-21. 

10.  Job's  second  reply  to  Bildad;   ch.  19. 

(i)  Job  remonstrates  against  the  continuance  of 
unkind  criticism ;    19:1-6. 

(2)  He  vainly  cries  for  help;    19:7-12. 

(3)  Declares  he  is  forsaken  by  all ;    19  :  13-19. 

(4)  He  appeals  to  his  friends  for  pity ;  19  :  20-22. 

(5)  Faith  is  born  out  of  despair;    19  :  23-29. 

11.  Zophar's  second  speech ;  ch.  20. 

(i)  Does  not  Job  know  how  brief  all  the  joy  of 
the  wicked  is  ?  20  :  1-29. 

12.  Job's  second  reply  to  Zophar;  ch.  21. 

(i)  Job  challenges  the  attention  of  his  friends; 
21 :  1-6. 

(2)  He  declares  that  the  wicked  are  not  over- 
taken by  calamity,  but  Hve  and  prosper ; 
21 :  7-34. 

48 


INTRODUCTION 


13.  The  third  speech  of  Eliphaz ;   ch.  22. 

(i)   Job's  punishment  proves  him  a  sinner;   22  : 

i-S- 

(2)  He  charges  Job  with  certain  specific  sins; 

22  :  6-11. 

(3)  He  warns  Job  by  the  fate  of  the  wicked  not 

to  think  that  God  cannot  see;   22  :  12-20. 

(4)  He  instructs  Job  how  to  regain  health  and 

prosperity;   22  :  21-30. 

14.  Job's  third  reply  to  EKphaz ;  ch.  2^  and  24  :  1-4, 

9-16,  23,  24.       '^ 
(i)   Job  again  expresses  his  vain  longing  to  come 
face  to  face  with  God ;    23 :  1-9. 

(2)  God  terrifies  Job,  though  innocent,  until  Job 

is  afraid;   23  :  10-17. 

(3)  Job    charges    God    with    encouraging    the 

wicked  by  deferring  judgment  upon  them ; 
24:  1-4,  9-16,  23,  24. 

15.  Bildad's  third  speech;    25:  1-6,  24:  17,  18,  5-8; 

30:3-8,  24:  19-22,  24. 
(i)    God's   holiness    and   man's   impurity   con- 
trasted;   25:1-6;    24:17,   18. 

(2)  The  fate  of  ignoble  sinners ;    24 :  5-8 ;  30 : 

3-8. 

(3)  The  fate  of  powerful  sinners ;   24 :  21,  22,  19, 

20,  24. 

16.  Job's  tliird  reply  to  Bildad;    ch.  26. 

(i)  Bildad  has  never  helped  the  men  whom  he 
decries  to  be  better ;    26  :  1-5. 

(2)  God  sees  everything,  but  is  himself  inscrut- 
able ;    26 : 6-14. 

17.  Zophar's  third  speech;   27  :  7-11,  13-23. 

(i)   The  hopelessness  of  the  godless;   27:7-11, 

13.-23. 

18.  Job's  third  reply  to  Zophar  and  his  appeal  to 

God;    27:1-6,    12;    29:1-25;    30:1,2, 
9-31;  31:1-40. 
E  49 


INTRODUCTION 


(i)   Job  swears  his  innocence;    27:  1-6,  12. 

(2)  An  interpolated  poem  on  wisdom  —  not  a 

part  of  Job's  speech;    ch.  28. 

(3)  Job  longs  for  the  bygone  days  of  his  pros- 

perity; ch.  29. 

(4)  He  contrasts  with  these  his  present  forlorn 

condition;    30:1,  2,  9-31. 

(5)  He  reasserts  his  innocence  and  appeals  to 

God;  31 :  1-34,  38-40,  35-37. 
IV.   The  Elihu  Interpolations ;  chs.  32-37. 

I.  The  work  of  an  Elihu  interpolator  whom  we  call 
"A";  32:1,  6-10,  18-22;  S3' ^-33;  35:2- 
14;  36:2-5,  loa,  6a,  12  [Septuagint  text], 
14,  15,  6b,  7a,  18-25,  27a,  28b,  SSI  37'  I,  5b, 
6a,  7-10,  14-24. 
(i)  The  introduction  of  Elihu;  32 :  i,  6-10,  18- 
22. 

(2)  Elihu's  first  address  to  Job ;    33  :  1-30. 

(a)  Job  is  invited  to  listen  to  Elihu,  who  is  a 

man   and  will   not   terrify  him ;    S3'' 

(b)  Elihu  restates  Job^s  position ;  33  :  8-13. 

(c)  God  seeks  by  night  visions  and  by  chastise- 

ments to  redeem  men ;   S3  •  i4~30. 

(3)  Elihu's  second  address ;  SS  •  3i~34  j  35  *  2-14. 

(a)  Elihu  adjures  Job  to  listen  further ;   sS  • 

31-33. 

(b)  God  is  impassible ;  Job's  sins  cannot  harm, 

nor  his  righteousness  profit  God;   35: 
2-8. 

(c)  Men  in  misfortune  cry  to  God  in  pride 

and  not  in  penitence:    therefore  God 
does  not  hear;    35:9-14. 

(4)  EUhu's  third  address ;  chs.  36  and  37,  with 

the  exceptions  noted  below, 
(a)   Elihu  begs  Job  to  listen  while  he  tells  the 
truth  about  God ;   36 :  2-4. 
so 


INTRODUCTION 


(b)  God,   though  mighty,  chastises  to  pro- 

duce   penitence;    36:5,    loa,    6a,    12 
[Septuagint  text],  14,  15,  6b,  7a,  18. 

(c)  He  urges  Job  to  repent;   36:  19-25. 

(d)  As  a  motive  to  repentance  God's  great- 

ness is  urged;    36:27a,  28b,  $3',  37- 
I,  5b,  6a,  7-10. 

(e)  Elihu's  final  appeal  to  Job ;   37  :  14-24. 

2.  The  work  of  an  Elihu  interpolator  whom  we  call 

"B";    32:2a,  3a,  17a,    11-16;   34:2-24,  26, 
27;   35:15,  16;   34:34-37. 
(i)   The  introduction  of  Elihu;    32:2a,  3a,  17a, 

11-16. 
(2)   Elihu  appeals  to  all  wise  men  to  make  a  sweep- 
ing  condemnation  of  Job ;    34 :  2-24,  26, 

27;  35:15,  16 ;  34:  34-37- 

(a)  Elihu  asks  the  attention  of  wise  men  to 

Job's  statement;  34  :  2-9. 

(b)  He  asserts  that  God  can  do  no  wrong; 

34:10-15. 

(c)  Injustice  is  not  tolerable  in  earthly  rulers, 

much  less  does  it  exist  in  God;  34: 
16-24,  26,  27. 

(d)  Job  is   only   complaining   because   God 

takes  no  notice  of  arrogance;   35:  15, 
16. 

(e)  Therefore  all  wise  men  must  condemn 

Job;  34:34-37. 

3.  A  poem  on  kings;    36:7bc;    34:28-33;    36:8 

9,  lob,  11-13. 

4.  A  psalm  on  a  thunderstorm ;  36 :  26,  27b,  28a,  29- 

32;  37:2-4a,  11,  i2ab,  13. 

5.  Later  glosses;   32 :  2b,  3b,  4,  5,  17b;  34:  25. 
Jehovah's   address  and  the   final  colloquy  between 

•  Jehovah  and  Job ;    ^8:  1-42  :  6. 
I.   The  great  address  of  Jehovah ;  38 :  1-40 :  2. 

(i)   Jehovah  challenges  Job's  attention ;   ^8 : 1-3. 
SI 


INTRODUCTION 


(2)  H^  asks  whether  Job  had  anything  to  do  with 

the  laying  of  the  earth's  foundations ;  $8: 

4-15. 

(3)  Does  Job  know  the  secrets  of  Hght,  darkness, 

snow,  hail,  and  the   various  mysteries   of 
nature?  ;^S :  16-30. 

(4)  Does  Job  control  the  constellations  ?  38  :  31- 

38. 

(5)  Does  Job  care  for  or  control  the  various  wild 

animals  ?  ^8  :  39-39  :  30. 

(a)  Does  he   find   prey  for   the  lions  ?   38 : 

39-41. 

(b)  Does  he  control  the  calving  of  wild  goats 

and  deer  ?  39  :  1-4. 

(c)  Did  he  give  the  wild  ass  his  freedom? 

39:5-8. 

(d)  Can  he  make  the  wild-ox  his  servant? 

39:9-12. 

(e)  God  has  given  the  ostrich  her  pecuHar 

qualities;  39:  13-18. 
(/)    Has   Job   given    the    horse    his    noble 

quahties?  39:19-25. 
(g)   Do  the  hawk  and  eagle  soar  by  Job's 

wisdom  ?  39  :  26-30. 

(6)  Jehovah  challenges  Job  to  answer;    40:  i,  2. 

2.  Job  dechnes  to  reply ;    ch.  40 :  3-5. 

3.  Jehovah  asks   Job   to    compare  his   power  with 

God's,  40 :  6,  9-14.     (40 :  7,  8  are  a  gloss.) 

4.  The  interpolation  concerning  the  hippopotamus 

and  crocodile;  40:15-41:34.    Not   a  part  of 
the  original  work, 
(i)    Description  of  behemoth  or  the  hippopota- 
mus; 40:  15-24. 
(2)    Description   of   leviathan   or   the   crocodile; 
ch.  41. 

5.  Job's  final  reply  and  penitent  submission  ;    42  :  i, 

2,  3b,  5,  6.     (42  :  3a  and  4  are  later  glosses.) 

52 


INTRODUCTION 


VI.   The  Epilogue;  42  :  7-17. 

1.  Job  was  healed  as  he  made  intercession  for  his 

friends  ;  42  :  7-10. 

2.  Job's  friends  \dsit  and  comfort  him;    42:  11. 

3.  The  material  blessings  which  attended  Job's  later 

years;  42  :  12-17. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Commentaries 

A.  B.  DAvmsoN.     The  Book  of  Job  in  the  Cambridge  Bible  for 

Schools  and  Colleges. 
Gibson.     Job  in  the  Westminster  Commentaries. 
J.  J.  Marshall.     The  Book  of  Job  in  An  American  Commentary 

on  the  Old  Testament. 
A.  S.  Peake.     Job  in  the  Century  Bible. 

New  Translation  and  Commentary 
Genung.     The  Epic  of  the  Inner  Life. 

New  Translations 

E.  J.  Dillon.     Skeptics  of  the  Old  Testament,  pp.  159-237. 
E.  J.  Dillon.     The  Original  Poem  of  Job. 

N.  Schmidt.  The  Messages  of  the  Poets,  in  Sanders  and  Kent's 
Messages  of  the  Bible. 

General  Introduction 

S.  R.  Driver.  Introduction  to  the  Literature  of  the  Old  Testament. 
Edinburgh  and  New  York,  189 1,  pp.  384-408.  Six  other  edi- 
tions have  since  appeared. 

C.  Cornill.  Introduction  to  the  Canonical  Books  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment.    New  York  and  London,  1907,  pp.  419-436. 

T.  K.  Cheyne.     Job  and  Solomon.    New  York,  1893,  pp.  1-115. 

C.  A.  Briggs.     Study  of  Holy  Scripture.     New  York. 

J.  E.  McFadyen.  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament.  New  York 
and  London,  1905,  pp.  264-281. 

E.  J.  Dillon.     Skeptics  of  the  Old  Testament,  pp.  1-84. 

T.  K.  Cheyne.     Job,  Book  of,  in  Encyclopedia  BibUca,  Vol.  II. 

W.  T.  Davison.  Job,  Book  of,  in  Hastings'  Dictionary  of  the  Bible, 
Vol.  II. 

M.  Seligsohn  and  C.  Siegfried.  Job,  Book  of,  in  Jewish  Encyclo- 
pedia, Vol.  VII. 

S3 


INTRODUCTION 


W.  Taylor  Smith,  The  Book  of  Job,  in  Hastings'  Dictionary  of  the 

Bible  (complete  in  one  volume). 
D.  B.  Macdonald.     Job,  in  the  Standard  Bible  Dictionary. 

Articles  on  Special  Topics 

D.  B.  Macdonald.  The  Original  Form  of  the  Legend  of  Job,  in  the 
Journal  of  Biblical  Literature,  Vol.  XIV,  pp.  63-71, 

D.  B.  Macdonald.  Some  External  Evidence  on  the  External  Form 
of  the  Legend  of  Job,  in  the  American  Journal  of  Semitic  Lan- 
guages, Vol.  XIV,  137-164. 

M.  Jastrow,  Jr.  A  Babylonian  Parallel  to  the  Story  of  Job,  in  the 
Journal  of  Biblical  Literature,  Vol.  XXV,  135-191. 

R.  C.  Thompson.  The  Third  Tablet  of  the  Series  Ludlul  bel  nimeki, 
in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology,  Vol. 
XXXII,  18-24. 

H.  H.  Nichols.  The  Composition  of  the  Elihu  Speeches,  Job, 
32-37,  in  the  American  Journal  of  Semitic  Languages,  Vol. 
XXVII,  pp.  97-186. 

On  the  Problem  of  Job 

A.  S.  Peake.  The  Problem  of  Suffering  in  the  Old  Testament, 
Ch.V. 

The  More  Important  Abbreviations 

Aq Aquila's  Version. 

Ar Arabic  Version. 

Eth Ethiopic  Version. 

Gr Septuagint  Version. 

Heb Hebrew. 

m Margin  of  Revised  Version. 

OLat Old  Latin  Version. 

RV Revised  Version. 

Sah Sahidic  (Egyptian)  Version. 

Sym Version  of  Symmachus. 

Syr Syriac  Version. 

Syr.  Hex.      .     .     .  Hexaplar  Syriac. 

SV       American  Standard  Version. 

Targ Targum  (Jewish  Aramaic  Version). 

Theod.  or  Th.   .     .  Version  of  Theodotion. 

Vulg Latin  Vulgate. 


S4 


THE    BOOK   OF   JOB 

I.  The  Prologue,  Chs.  i,  2 
I.   J  oh,  his  Station,  Character,  and  Family,  i  :  1-5 

1.  There  was  a  man  in  the  land  of  Uz,  whose  name  was 
^  Job ;  and  that  man  was  perfect  and  upright,  and  one 

2.  that  feared   God,  and  eschewed  ^evil.      And  there 

1  m.  Heb.  lyob.  ^  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  every  evil  deed. 

I.  Uz.  It  is  clear  from  v.  3  ("  this  man  was  the  greatest  of  all 
the  children  of  the  east  ")  that  Uz  lay  to  the  east  of  Palestine.  In 
the  genealogies  of  Genesis,  in  which  tribes  and  lands  are  personified 
as  men,  the  references  to  Uz  are  not  altogether  consistent. 
Gen.  10:  23  assigns  it  to  the  Aramaeans,  by  making  Uz  a  son  of 
Aram;  Gen.  22  :  21  accomplishes  the  same  result  by  making  Uz  a 
son  of  Nahor,  Abraham's  brother ;  while  Gen.  36 :  28  makes  Uz  a 
son  of  Seir,  i.e.  Edom.  This  last  view  seems  to  be  confirmed  by 
Lam.  4:  21.  Gen.  10:  23  and  22:  21  point  to  a  locality  to  the 
northeast  of  western  Palestine,  possibly  as  far  away  as  the 
Euphrates,  while  Gen.  36:  28  and  Lam.  4:  21  indicate  a  locality 
in  or  near  Edom.  Perhaps  Jer.  25  :  20  refers  to  the  same  locality, 
though  some  think  Jeremiah  placed  Uz  between  Egypt  and  Phi- 
listia.  Evidence  from  outside  the  canonical  text  is  in  like  manner 
divided  between  these  localities.  Shalmeneser  II  (860-825  B.C.) 
received  tribute  from  Sasi,  the  Uzzite.  From  the  context  it 
appears  that  this  Uz  lay  somewhere  between  the  Euphrates  and 
Lebanon.  This  accords  with  the  genealogy  of  Gen.  22.  Jo- 
sephus  {Antiquities,  I,  6:4),  says  that  "  of  the  four  sons  of  Aram 
Uz  founded  Trachonitis  and  Damascus."  He  probably  thought 
of  Uz,  then,  as  lying  to  the  east  or  northeast  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee 
and  not  so  far  away  as  the  Euphrates.  Several  modern  travellers 
have  called  attention  to  traditions  of  Job  which  still  survive  in 
this  region.  In  little  villages  around  Nawa,  which  lies  about 
twenty  miles  east  of  the  north  end  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  various 
ruins  are  named  after  Job,  the  tombs  of  Job  and  his  wife  are  shown, 

55 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


were  born  unto  him  seven  sons  and  three  daughters. 

3.   His   ^substance    also    was    seven    thousand    sheep, 

and    three    thousand     camels,     and    five    hundred 

1  m.  Or  cattle. 


and  in  the  same  region  there  is  a  place  called  the  "Threshing- 
floor  of  Uz  "  (cf.  Ewing,  Arab  and  Druze  at  Home,  pp.  17-19,  and 
Schumacher,  Across  the  Jordan,  p.  179).  Traditions  concerning 
Job  abound  in  this  region  and  are  probably  a  survival  of  traditions 
which  through  Josephus  we  can  trace  back  to  Gen.  10. 

On  the  other  hand  an  addition  to  the  last  chapter  of  Job  which 
is  found  in  the  Greek,  Sahidic,  Ethiopic,  and  Arabic  versions 
(see  note  on  42  :  17),  and  which  is  older  than  the  Christian  era, 
places  Uz  "  on  the  borders  of  Edom  and  Arabia."  This  view  is  a 
survival  of  that  reflected  in  Gen.  36  and  Lamentations.  Some 
scholars  find  a  confirmation  of  this  view  in  that  the  name  Uz  seems 
to  be  identical  with  the  name  of  an  old  Arabian  deity.  Some 
have  thought  that  Uz  must  have  lain  as  far  to  the  east  as  the  Uz  of 
Shalmeneser,  for  it  is  said  in  the  Hebrew  of  v.  17  that  the  Chal- 
daeans  fell  upon  Job's  camels.  We  learn,  however,  from  Eze. 
21  :  20  ff.,  that  the  Chaldaean  king  of  Babylon  had  marched  into 
the  region  east  of  the  Jordan  to  attack  Rabbah  Ammon,  and  such  a 
fact  would  justify  this  feature  of  the  folk  tale  even  if  Uz  lay  in  the 
Hauran  or  to  the  east  of  Edom.  The  original  text,  however,  made 
no  reference  to  the  Chaldaeans  (see  note  on  i  :  17).  Probably 
the  story  originally  referred  to  the  localities  in  the  Hauran,  where 
we  have  the  "  Threshing-floor  of  Uz,"  and  the  villages  of  Naemeh 
and  Tema.  From  these  last  Eliphaz  and  Zophar  came  (see  notes 
on  2:  11).  As  the  story  became  popular  the  stage  on  which  it 
was  enacted  was  in  thought  enlarged.  Job.  We  learn  from 
Eze.  14  :  14  that  Job  was  the  name  of  a  patriarch  or  hero,  noted  for 
his  righteousness.  Ezekiel  associates  him  with  Noah  as  an 
example  of  a  remarkably  upright  man.  Perfect.  Not  sinless, 
but  blameless  is  the  idea  implied.  Eschewed,  i.e.  "shunned  "or 
"avoided." 

2.  Seven  sons  and  three  daughters.  Both  three  and  seven 
were  mystic  or  sacred  numbers  not  only  in  Israel  but  throughout 
the  world.  See  2  Sam.  24  :  13  ;  i  Kgs.  17  :  21  ;  Dan.  6  :  10 ;  also 
Gen.  7:2;  21  :  28-30 ;  i  Kgs.  18  :  43  ;  etc.  These  numbers  run 
through  the  enumeration  of  the  herds  of  Job  in  v.  3.  Appar- 
ently these  numbers  are  due  to  the  elaboration  of  the  folk  tale. 

3.  Sheep  .  .  .  camels  .  .  .  oxen  .  .  .  asses.  These  are  to 
this  day  the  chief  form  of  wealth  for  a  great  Emir  of  that  part  of 

56 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


yoke    of    oxen,  and  five  hundred    ^  she-asses,  and  a 
very  great   household  2;  so  that    this   man  was  the 

4.  greatest  of  all  the  children  of  the  east.  And  his 
sons  went  and  held  a  feast  in  the  house  of  each 
one  upon  his  day;     and  they  sent  and  called  for 

5.  their  three  sisters  to  eat  and  to  drink  with  them.  And 
it  was  so,  when  the  days  of  their  feasting  were  gone 
about,  that  Job  sent  and  sanctified  them,  and  rose  up 
early  in   the   morning,   and   offered  burnt   offerings 

1  Gr.  Sah.  she  grazing  asses.  2  xhe  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  add  and  he  had  great  works  in 
the  land. 

the  East.  The  numbers  are  not  intended  to  be  strictly  accurate. 
They  are  symbolical,  implying  that  the  wealth  of  Job  was  com- 
plete and  sufficient.  They  are  due  to  the  idealizing,  half-poetiz- 
ing form  of  the  folk  tale.  Household.  The  Heb.  word  implies 
a  household  of  servants.  Greatest.  Greatest  in  wealth,  i.e.  the 
richest. 

4.  House  of  each  one  upon  his  day.  I.e.  in  the  house  of  each 
in  turn.  The  sons  seem  to  have  had  houses  of  their  own,  al- 
though it  does  not  appear  from  the  story  that  any  of  them  were 
married.  The  sisters  lived  at  the  home  of  Job.  The  statement 
implies  that  each  brother  made  a  feast  at  his  house  on  successive 
days  of  the  week  to  which  the  sisters  were  invited.  When  the 
week  was  finished.  Job  offered  a  sacrifice  on  their  behalf.  It  is 
implied  that  their  life  was  a  continual  feast.  We  are  not  here  in 
contact  with  actual  history.  The  tale  has  been  shaped  by  the 
popular  fancy  as  to  the  enjoyments  of  the  rich. 

5.  Sent  and  sanctified  them.  Probably  this  means  he  sent  for 
them  to  come  and  sanctify  themselves  for  the  sacrificial  ceremony. 
The  sanctification  consisted  of  washings  and  a  change  of  clothing. 
The  every-day  garments  of  secular  occupations  were  laid  aside  and 
clothing  worn  on  religious  occasions  substituted.  See  Gen.  35  : 
2;  I  Sam.  16:5.  Offered  burnt  offerings.  As  among  the  primi- 
tive Semites  the  father  is  here  the  priest  of  the  family,  offering  the 
sacrifice  himself.  The  whole  idea  of  the  efficacy  of  sacrifice  be- 
longs to  a  stage  of  thought  more  crude  than  the  poem  itself, 
though  the  belief  in  the  necessity  of  sacrifice  survived  long  after 
the  age  of  the  poet.  It  was  thought  in  primitive  times  that 
God  could  thus  be  appeased  for  ceremonial  transgressions  of 
which  the  individual  was  ignorant  (see  Lev.  4).     From  this  the 

57 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


according  to  the  number  of  them  all  ^ :  for  Job  said, 
It  may  be  that  my  sons  have  sinned,  and  ^  renounced 
God  in  their  hearts.     Thus  did  Job  continually. 

*  Gr.  Sah.  Eth,  add  even  one  calf  for  a  sin  ojffering  for  their  souls.       ^  m.  Or  blas- 
phemed. 


inference  was  drawn  that  God  could  be  moved  by  sacrifice  to 
forgive  or  overlook  conscious  sins  of  one's  spirit  or  will.  The 
story  represents  Job  as  holding  this  latter  view.  The  burnt 
offering  had,  however,  no  connection  with  Lev.  4.  It  was  for 
sins.  It  was  all  given  to  God.  The  worshipper  ate  none  of  it. 
Number  of  them  all.  Probably  this  means  ten  burnt  offerings, 
one  for  each  child  including  the  daughters.  If  it  meant  seven, 
one  for  each  son,  as  some  have  supposed,  the  word  all  would 
hardly  have  been  added.  My  sons  have  simied.  The  word 
rendered  "  sons  "  is  in  the  plural  equivalent  to  "  children." 

Renounced  God.  The  Hebrew  word  here  used  means  "  bless." 
It  is  clearly  a  euphemism  for  curse.  Some  scholars  think  that, 
as  it  was  used  in  salutations  and  in  formulas  of  farewell  (see 
I  Sam.  25  :  14;  Gen.  47  :  7,  10),  and  is  so  used  in  the  East  to  this 
day,  it  at  times  acquired  the  significance  of  "bid  adieu  to," 
or  "renounce,"  but  there  is  no  trace  elsewhere  of  such  a  meaning. 
Thus  did  Job  continually.  Job  appears  to  have  desired  his 
children  to  enjoy  innocent  pleasures  suitable  to  their  years,  even 
though  such  pleasures  no  longer  appealed  to  him.  He  was  not 
present  at  their  feasts,  and  feared  that  under  the  stimulus  of  wine 
they  might  have  said  some  word  to  offend  God  or  that  they  might 
actually  renounce  him.  He  accordingly  permitted  the  feasts 
to  go  on,  but  offered  sin-offerings  for  them.  Renunciation  of 
God,  the  sin  to  which  he  feared  his  children  might  be  led  by 
life's  joys,  is  just  the  sin  to  which  Job's  sufferings  almost  drove 
him. 

In  order  to  explain  the  misfortunes  which  overtook  Job,  the 
reader  is  now  transferred  to  the  court  of  Jehovah,  and  a  scene 
there  is  described  to  him.  The  conceptions  which  underlie  this 
scene  belong  to  a  fairly  primitive  stratum  of  thought.  There 
is  nothing  quite  like  it  in  the  Old  Testament,  except  in  i  Kgs.  22, 
where  the  conceptions  expressed  are  more  primitive  than  those 
revealed  here.  In  both  passages  Jehovah  is  pictured  as  a  king  of 
spiritual  beings  who  has  times  of  counselling  with  the  spirits  who 
are  subordinate  to  him.  In  Job  he  has  certain  court  days  when 
the  subordinate  spirits  come  to  pay  their  respects  to  him.  The 
scene  which  is  the  theme  of  vs.  6-12  occurred  on  such  a  day. 

58 


THE   BOOK   OF  JOB 


2.    The  Heavenly  Conference  at  which  the  Trials  of  Job  are 
Ordained,  i :  6-12 

6.  Now  there  was  a  day  when  ^  the  sons  of  God  came 
to  present  themselves  before  the  Lord,  and  ^  Satan 

7.  came  also  among  them.     And  the  Lord  said  unto 
Satan,  Whence  comest  thou?    Then  Satan  answered 

1  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  the  angels.  2  m.  That  is,  the  Adversary. 

6.  Now  there  was  a  day.  I.e.  the  regular  day  for  such  an 
assemblage  of  heavenly  beings  in  Jehovah's  presence  as  is  de- 
scribed in  the  following  verses.  When  the  sons  of  God.  This 
means  beings  of  the  divine  order,  who  belonged  in  contrast  to 
mortals  to  the  same  class  as  Jehovah  himself.  Such  beings  are 
mentioned  in  Gen.  6:2;  Ps.  29  :  i  ;  and  according  to  the  Gr.  in 
Deut.  32:8.  For  a  long  time  Israelites,  although  recognizing 
that  they  ought  to  worship,  when  in  Palestine,  Jehovah  only, 
believed  in  the  reality  of  other  deities  (see  Ex.  20 :  3 ;  i  Sam.  26 : 
19;  and  Micah  4:5).  Jeremiah  (14:22)  was  the  first  to  de- 
clare that  such  deities  were  mere  nothings,  and  his  view  was, 
perhaps,  never  accepted  by  all.  More  believed  that  such  beings 
became  subject  to  Jehovah  and  became  his  messengers  or  angels. 
Three  of  the  ancient  versions  actually  so  translate  the  words  here. 
The  conception  of  the  passage  before  us  is  on  the  borderland  be- 
tween real  deities  and  angels.  These  "sons  of  God  "  are  pictured 
as  Jehovah's  nobles  or  courtiers  rather  than  his  mere  messengers. 
They  are  thought  to  hold  to  him  much  the  same  relation  that 
the  nobles  of  a  kingdom  hold  to  their  monarch.  Satan  came  also. 
This  is  one  of  the  three  passages  in  the  Old  Testament  in  which 
the  name  Satan  occurs.  The  others  are  Zech.  3  :  2  and  i  Chr. 
21:1.  In  the  earlier  time  the  Hebrews  thought  Jehovah  did 
everything  both  good  and  evil.  Amos,  e.g.,  says  (3  : 6),  "can  an 
evil  befall  a  city  and  Jehovah  not  have  done  it?  "  The  develop- 
ment of  Satan  in  Hebrew  religious  thought  belongs  to  the  time 
after  the  exile  (cf.  i  Chr.  21:1  with  2  Sam.  24 :  i).  The  Satan  of 
this  book  is  a  less  developed  adversary  than  the  one  in  Zechariah 
or  Chronicles.  He  is  still  one  of  the  divine  beings,  a  member  of 
Jehovah's  heavenly  court,  and  comes  like  the  other  angels  to  the 
gatherings  of  heavenly  beings  to  pay  his  respects  to  his  sovereign. 
He  is  pictured  as  a  kind  of  disgruntled  angel,  who  has  lost  his 
belief  in  human  virtue ;  he  has  become  cynical,  and  holds  that 
every  man  has  his  price. 

59 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


the  Lord,  and  said,  From  going  to  and  fro  in  the 

8.  earth,^  and  from  walking  up  and  down  in  it.  And 
the  Lord  said  unto  Satan,  Hast  .thou  considered 
my  servant  Job  ?  ^  for  there  is  none  lilce  him  in 
the  earth,  a  perfect  and  an  upright  man,   one  that 

9.  feareth  God,  and  escheweth  ^  evil.  Then  Satan  an- 
swered the  Lord,  and  said.  Doth  Job  fear  God  for 

10.  nought?  Hast  not  thou  made  an  hedge  about  him, 
and  about  his  house,  and  about  all  that  he  hath,  on 
every  side  ?  thou  hast  blessed  the  ^  work  of  his  hands, 

11.  and  his  ^  substance  is  increased  in  the  land.  But 
put  forth  thine  hand  now,   and  touch  all   that  he 

12.  hath,  and  ^  he  will  renounce  thee  to  thy  face.  And 
the  Lord  said  unto  Satan,  Behold,  all  that  he  hath 

1  Targ.  adds  to  examine  the  work  of  the  children  of  men.  2  m.  Or  that.  ^  Gr. 

Sah.  Eth.  every  evil  deed.         *  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  Targ.  works.  '  m.  cattle.  ^  Heb. 

he  will  bless  thee. 

7.  Going  to  and  fro  in  the  earth.  This  implies  that  Satan 
had  been  using  his  opportunities  to  observe  the  ways  and  the 
characters  of  men. 

8.  Hast  thou  considered?  The  Lord  calls  Satan's  attention 
to  Job  as  to  a  conspicuous  example  of  virtue,  in  order  that  by  this 
means  Satan's  cynical  estimate  of  men  may  be  dispelled  and  he 
may  be  restored  to  a  healthy  attitude  of  mind.  Escheweth  evil. 
I.e.  turns  away  from  or  avoids  evil. 

9.  Doth  Job  fear  God  for  naught?  Satan  has  noticed  Job, 
but  he  considers  that  Job  is  so  prosperous  in  his  virtue  that  that 
virtue  never  has  been  tested.  Job's  integrity  and  uprightness, 
accordingly,  are  to  Satan's  mind  no  proof  that  Job  does  not  like 
other  men  have  his  price. 

10.  Hast  thou  not  made  an  hedge  about  him?  This  and  the 
words  which  follow  set  forth  strikingly  the  greatness  of  Job's 
possessions,  and  how  absolutely  free  he  is  from  attack. 

11.  Touch  all  that  he  hath.  I.e.  touch  any  of  his  possessions. 
Touch  is  used  in  the  sense  of  injure  or  remove.  Renounce.  The 
Hebrew  uses  again  the  euphemism  bless.  The  idea  conveyed  is 
"he  will  curse  thee." 

12.  All  that  he  hath  is  in  thy  power.  In  order  to  convince 
Satan  that  he  is  wrong  in  his  suspicion  of  Job's  disinterested 

60 


THE   BOOK   OF   JOB 


is  in  thy  ^  power ;  only  upon  himself  put  not  forth 
thine  hand.  So  Satan  went  forth  from  the  presence 
of  the  Lord. 

3.    The  First  Series  of  Disasters,  1 :  13-19 

13.  And  it  fell  on  a  day  when  his  sons  and  his  daugh- 
ters were  eating  and  drinking  wine  in  their  eldest 

14.  brother's  house,  that  there  came  a  messenger  unto 
Job,  and  said,  The  oxen  were  plowing,  and  the  asses 

15.  feeding  beside  them:    and  ^  the  Sabeans  fell  upon 


I  Heb.  hand.  2  m.  Heb.  Sheha.     Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  by  the  change  of  one  letter 

read  those  who  take  captives,  i.e.  raiders. 

virtue,  Jehovah  gave  Job's  possessions  into  Satan's  power.  He 
thus  permitted  Satan,  according  to  this  story,  to  experiment  on 
Job.  The  object  is  clearly  in  order  to  reclaim  Satan.  Inlsa. 
40-55  the  great  doctrine  is  set  forth  that  Israel  suffered  in  order 
to  bring  the  world  to  Jehovah ;  this  writer  represents  Job  as  suf- 
fering in  order  that  God  may  win  back  an  angel  who  is  on  the 
downward  road.  Only  upon  himself  put  not  forth  thine  hand. 
In  this  first  experiment  only  Job's  possessions  were  to  be  touched. 
Jehovah  measures  each  of  Job's  afflictions  by  the  gauge  of  Satan's 
sneer. 

13.  It  fell.     I.e.  it  happened. 

14.  The  oxen  were  ploughing.  Ploughing  can  only  be  done  in 
that  country  in  the  winter,  i.e.  the  rainy  season,  after  the  mois- 
ture has  softened  the  soil.  This  calamity,  therefore,  happened  in 
winter. 

15.  The  Sabeans.  The  men  of  Saba,  a  city  in  the  southwest 
part  of  the  Arabian  peninsula.  Gen.  10  :  7  and  28,  also  25  :  3,  men- 
tion it  among  the  clans  of  the  Arabs.  According  to  i  Kgs.  10 
the  queen  of  this  city  visited  Solomon.  From  numerous  inscrip- 
tions brought  in  recent  years  from  South  Arabia,  it  appears  that 
Saba  became  an  independent  kingdom  about  500  B.C.  Before 
that  time  it  had  been  for  some  250  years  subject  to  the  neighbor- 
ing city  of  Main.  During  this  period  its  rulers  were  called 
Mukarrihs.  In  the  year  715  B.C.  Sargon,  king  of  Assyria,  sent 
a  military  expedition  into  the  Arabian  desert  and  among  others 
received  tribute  from  Yathamar,   Mukarrib  of   Saba.     Accord- 

61 


i6  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


them^  and  took  them  away ;  yea,  they  have  slain  the 
^  servants  with  the  edge  of  the  sword ;  and  I  only  am 

i6.  escaped  alone  to  tell  thee.  While  he  was  yet 
speaking,  there  came  also  another,  and  said,  The 
2  fire  of  God  is  fallen  from  heaven,  and  hath 
burned  up  the  sheep,  and  the  ^  servants,  and 
consumed  them ;  and  I  only  am  escaped  alone  to  tell 

17.  thee.  While  he  was  yet  speaking,  there  came  also 
another,  and  said,  ^  The  Chaldeans  made  three  bands, 

^va.Hth.  young  men.  '^'Sdh.'Eth.  fire  from  heaven.  ^Heh.  young  men;  Gr. 

Syr.  Sah.  Eth.  shepherds.  *  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  Iwrsemen. 

ing  to  Job  6 :  19  caravans  from  Saba  penetrated  the  northern 
deserts.  If  these  were  Sabeans,  they  were  probably  members 
of  such  a  caravan.  The  Gr.  Sah.  and  Eth  Versions  by  the  change 
of  one  letter  make  the  destroyers  of  Job's  oxen  and  asses  raiders 
whose  habitat  is  not  defined.  They  have  slain  the  servants. 
Probably  the  servants,  like  the  Bedu  to-day,  were  armed  and 
showed  fight.  If  the  attacking  party  tried  to  steal  some  of  Job's 
animals  and  the  servants  resisted,  it  would  account  for  the 
slaughter.     The  Arabs  seldom  shed  blood  unless  attacked. 

16.  The  fire  of  God.  I.e.  lightning.  Since  thunder-  storms 
occur  there  in  winter  only,  this  is  another  indication  that  these 
misfortunes  occurred  at  that  season. 

17.  The  Chaldeans.  These  were  a  Semitic  people  who  made 
their  appearance  in  southern  Babylonia  about  1000  B.C.  and 
played  an  important  role  in  the  history  of  that  country  for  five 
hundred  years.  One  of  their  number,  Merodach-Baladan  (cf. 
2  Kgs.  20: 12  and  Isa.  39 :  i),  made  much  trouble  for  the  Assyrian 
kings  Sargon  and  Sennacherib.  He  fomented  many  rebellions 
against  them  and  tried  to  draw  Hezekiah  of  Judah  into  his  plans. 
In  625  B.C.  Nabopolassar,  a  Chaldean,  became  king  of  Bab3don, 
which  was  thus  ruled  by  Chaldeans  till  it  was  conquered  by  Cyrus 
in  538.  Under  Nabopolassar's  son  Nebuchadnezzar  many  cam- 
paigns were  sent  into  Palestine  (cf.  2  Kgs.  24  and  25  ;  Jer.  46  ;  Eze. 
21:  25;  and  29:  17  Q.).  These  campaigns  made  the  Chaldeans 
very  well  known  in  the  West.  Three  ancient  versions  read 
"horsemen "  instead  of  Chaldeans  here,  and  perhaps  in  the 
original  narrative  the  Chaldeans  did  not  appear.  Horsemen 
in  Hebrew  could  easily  be  corrupted  into  Chaldeans.  Made 
three  bands.     So  as  to  hem  the  camels  in  on  three  sides  and  pre- 

62 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


and  ^  fell  upon  the  camels,  and  have  taken  them  away, 
yea,  and  slain  the  ^  servants  with  the  edge  of  the 
sword;    and  I  only  am  escaped  alone  to  tell  thee. 

1 8.  While  he  was  yet  speaking,  there  came  also  another, 
and  said,  Thy  sons  and  thy  daughters  were  eating 
and  drinking  wine  in  their  eldest  brother's  house: 

19.  and,  behold,  there  came  a  great  wind  ^  from  the  wilder- 
ness, and  smote  the  four  corners  of  the  house,  and  it 
fell  upon  the  young  men,  and  they  are  dead;  and  I 
only  am  escaped  alone  to  tell  thee. 

4.  JoVs  Demeanor  under  these  Misfortunes,  i :  20-22 

20.  Then  Job  arose,  and  rent  his  mantle,  and  shaved 
his  head,  and  fell  down  upon  the  ground,  and  wor- 

1  m.  Or  made  a  raid.  ^  m.  Heb.  young  men.  '  m.  Or  over. 

vent  their  escape,  except  in  the  direction  that  they  wished  them 
to  go.  The  camel  is  easily  frightened,  and  when  alarmed  runs  in 
any  direction  that  he  can.  Attacking  on  three  sides  was,  however, 
common  in  Oriental  raids  ;  see  Jud.  7:16;  9  :  43  ;   i  Sam.  11:  11. 

19.  A  great  wind  from  the  wilderness.  That  is,  an  east  wind 
from  across  the  great  eastern  desert.  Such  winds  were  especially 
strong,  see  Jer.  13  :  27 ;  but  this  one  must  have  been  a  whirlwind 
or  cyclone.  The  young  men.  This  must  be  understood  as  the 
yoimg  people,  for  it  must  have  included  the  daughters  also.  Thus 
with  the  death  of  his  children  the  desolation  of  his  prosperous 
estate  was  completed.  In  three  swiftly  succeeding  blows  all 
had  been  swept  away. 

20.  Rent  his  mantle.  Not  a  mantle,  but  an  outer  garment 
worn  over  the  tunic.  The  tunic  was  worn  next  the  skin,  and  this 
outer  garment  completed  the  toilet.  In  early  times  it  was  made 
of  linen,  later  of  cotton.  It  had  sleeves  and  reached  to  the 
ankles.  Such  garments  were  worn  by  Saul  and  Jonathan  (i  Sam. 
18:4;  24:5,  12)  and  by  "princes  of  the  sea"  (Eze.  26:16). 
They  were  also  worn  by  women  of  high  rank  (2  Sam.  13:  18). 
They  might  be  ornamented  in  various  colors  (Gen.  37:3).  To 
rend  one's  garment  was  a  token  of  grief  ;  see  Gen.  37  :  29  and  34; 
44:13;     2   Sam.    13:19;     and  Joel   2:13.     Shaved  his  head. 

63 


21  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


21.  shipped;  and  he  said,  Naked  came  I  out  of  my 
mother's  womb,  and  naked  shall  I  return  thither: 
the  Lord  gave,   and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away; 

22.  blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord.  ^  In  all  this  Job 
sinned  not,  nor  charged  God  with  fooUshness. 

5.  The  Second  Heavenly  Conference,  2  :  1-6 

2.  Again  there  was  a  day  when  the  sons  of  God  came 
2  to  present  themselves  before  the  Lord,  and  Satan 
came  also  among  them  to  present  himself  before  the 

2.  Lord.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Satan,  From  whence 
comest  thou?  And  Satan  answered  the  Lord,  and 
said.  From  going  to  and  fro  in  the  earth,  ^and  from 

3.  walking  up  and  down   in   it.     And   the   Lord  said 

1  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.    In  all  these  things  which  happened  to  him.  2  Some  Gr.  MSS., 

also  Aq.  Th.  Sah.  Eth.,  omit  to  present  themselves  before  the  Lord.  ^  Gr.  Sah.  Eth. 

and  walking  up  and  down  everywhere  am  I  come. 

This  was  among  the  Hebrews,  as  among  many  other  compara- 
tively primitive  peoples,  a  sign  of  mourning,  see  Jer.  16 :  6,  Eze. 
7:  18;  Amos  8:  10.  It  is  prohibited  in  Deut.  14:  i.  This  pro- 
hibition seems  not  to  have  been  observed.  Its  existence,  how- 
ever, proves  that  the  custom  had  been  practised.  Lev.  21:5 
forbids  the  high  priest  to  shave  his  head  as  a  sign  of  mourning  for 
his  relatives,  implying  that  others  might  do  so.  Among  the 
Arabs  the  custom  seems  to  be  practised  by  women  only.  And 
worshipped.     In  token  of  his  profound  submission  to  God. 

21.  Naked  shall  I  return  thither.  The  thought  is  plain, 
though  the  language  is  inexact.  "Came  I  out  of  my  mother's 
womb  "  must  be  Kteral,  but  "naked  shall  I  return  thither  "  must 
be  a  figurative  expression  for  death.  Blessed  be  the  name  of 
the  Lord.  Instead  of  cursing  God  as  Satan  had  predicted.  Job 
submits  to  the  inscrutable  affliction  with  words  of  blessing. 

22.  Nor  charged  God  with  foolishness.  Better:  "he  did  not 
ascribe  unseemliness  to  God." 

I.  Again  there  was  a  day.  The  folk  tale  pictured  Jehovah 
as  having,  like  an  earthly  king,  certain  days  on  which  his  nobles 
gathered  about  him. 

64 


THE   BOOK   OF  JOB 


unto  Satan,  Hast  thou  considered  my  servant  Job? 
^  for  there  is  none  like  him  in  the  earth,  a  perfect  and 
an  upright  man,  one  that  feareth  God,  and  escheweth 
evil :  and  he  still  holdeth  fast  his  integrity,  although 
though  movedst  me  against  him,   ^  to  destroy  him 

4.  without  cause.     And  Satan  answered  the  Lord,  and 
said,  Skin  for  skin,  yea,  all  that  a  man  hath  will  he 

5.  give  for  his  life.     But  put  forth  thine  hand  now,  and 
touch  his  bone  and  his  flesh,  and  he  will  renounce  thee 

6.  to  thy  face.     And  the  Lord  said  unto  Satan,  Behold, 
he  is  in  thine  hand ;   only  spare  his  life. 

3  m.  Or,  that.  *  Heb.  to  swallow  him  up. 

3.  Hast  thou  considered  my  servant  Job?  Satan  did  not 
refer  to  his  experiment  upon  Job  until  questioned  about  it.  He 
was  not  eager  to  confess  failure.  Holdeth  fast  his  integrity. 
Satan's  prediction  as  to  what  Job  would  do  had  been  signally- 
falsified.  Escheweth  evil.  I.e.  "  turns  away  from,"  or  "avoids  evil." 

4.  Skin  for  skin.  The  expression  is  apparently  proverbial. 
It  is  obscure  in  meaning,  and  various  interpretations  have  been 
suggested  for  it.  The  most  probable  of  these  is  "the  skin  of  an- 
other will  a  man  give  for  his  own."  Perhaps  it  was  a  proverb 
among  the  Bedu ;  they  may  have  threatened  a  shepherd  by 
telling  him  that  he  must  give  the  skins  of  his  flock  in  order  to  save 
his  own._  In  any  case  the  saying  is  quoted  here  to  imply  that  Job 
was  willing  to  sacrifice  the  skins  of  all  his  herds  and  even  of  his 
children  to  save  his  own.  Satan  is  not  convinced  of  Job's  integ- 
rity. According  to  his  view  his  prediction  concerning  Job  has 
failed  only  because  of  the  limitation  put  upon  Satan's  test  of  him. 
He  was  not  permitted  to  touch  Job  closely  enough. 

5.  Touch  his  bone  and  his  flesh.  A  Hebrew  idiom  for  "his 
person."  This  clause  vouches  for  the  general  correctness  of  our 
interpretation  of  the  preceding  verse.  He  will  renounce  thee 
to  thy  face.  The  Heb.  here,  as  in  i :  11,  is  "will  bless  thee  to  thy 
face."     "Bless,"  as  before,  is    used  euphemistically  for  "curse." 

6.  Behold,  he  is  in  thine  hand;  only  spare  his  life.  Once 
more  Jehovah,  for  the  sake  of  reclaiming  Satan  and  restoring  his 
faith  in  the  reality  of  disinterested  virtue,  accepts  Satan's  condi- 
tions, and  allows  him  to  test  Job  by  afflicting  his  body.  The  one 
limitation  is  that  Job's  hfe  shall  be  spared. 

F  65 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


6.   The  Second  Test  and  its  Outcome,  2  :  7-10 

7.  So  Satan  went  forth  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord, 
and  smote  Job  with  sore  boils  from  the  sole  of  his 

8.  foot  unto  his  crown.     And  he  took  him  a  potsherd 

to  scrape  himself  withal ;  and  he  sat  among  the  ashes. 

1  Gr.  Th.  Sah.  Eth.  to  scrape  away  the  ichor. 

7.  Sore  boils  from  the  sole  of  his  foot  to  his  crown.  Many 
opinions  have  been  entertained  as  to  the  nature  of  the  disease 
with  which  Job  was  afflicted.  The  folk  tale  tells  us  that  the  whole 
body  was  covered  with  sores,  including  even  the  face,  which  was 
so  disfigured  that  his  friends  did  not  recognize  him  (2:12). 
These  sores  emitted  pus  which  formed  scabs,  that  could  be 
scraped  off  with  a  bit  of  potsherd  (v.  8).  Possibly  this  scrap- 
ing was  to  allay  the  itching ;  some  have  thought  that  it  was  to 
allay  this  that  he  sat  in  ashes.  The  poet  adds  the  following 
details:  from  pain  Job  groaned  continually  (3  :  24),  his  nerves 
were  unstrung  (3  :  25),  he  felt  as  though  burned  with  a  fiery  poison 
(6:4),  his  sores  were  infested  with  maggots  (7:  5,  compare  also 
the  addition  to  2  :  9  in  the  Gr.  Sah.  and  Eth.),  and  his  breath  was 
fetid  (19:17).  Origen  thought  he  had  leprosy;  Kimchi,  the 
mediaeval  Jewish  scholar,  the  form  of  leprosy  called  Elephantiasis  ; 
others  have  suggested  smallpox,  a  kind  of  boil  known  as  "Aleppo 
button  "  or  "  Baghdad  date  "  and  ecthyma.  In  some  respects  the 
description  in  the  text  does  not  conform  to  the  symptoms  of  any 
one  of  these.  Probably  it  is  hopeless  now  to  try  to  identify  the 
malady  from  which  Job  suffered.  Even  in  the  folk  tale  which 
the  poet  adopted  as  the  background  for  his  work  the  symptoms  of 
some  real  disease  were  loosely  described  and  heightened  as  in 
all  popular  descriptions  of  sickness,  and  the  touches  which  the 
poet  has  added  were  probably  added  from  his  observation  of  what 
would  be  likely  in  such  diseases,  and  are  not  first-hand  infor- 
mation as  to  the  symptoms  of  this  particular  patient.  It 
appears,  then,  that  we  cannot  now  tell  the  exact  nature  of  Job's 
malady. 

8.  A  potsherd  to  scrape  himself.  As  suggested  above,  either 
to  remove  the  scabs,  or  to  allay  the  itching.  He  sat  among  the 
ashes.  Possibly  to  allay  the  itching,  but  more  probably  in  token 
of  his  desolate  condition,  since  sitting  in  ashes  was  a  sign  of  grief. 
See  Esth.  4:1;   Isa.  58:5;   Jer.  6:26;   Jonah  3:6. 

66 


THE  BOOK  OF   JOB 


9.   ^  Then  said  his  wife  unto  him,  ^  Dost  thou  still  hold 

10.  fast  thine  integrity  ?  ^  renounce  God,  and  die.  ^  But 
he  said  unto  her.  Thou  speakest  as  one  of  the  ^  foolish 
women  speaketh.  What?  shall  we  receive  good  at 
the  hand  of  God,  and  shall  we  not  receive  evil  ?  ®  In 
all  this  did  not  Job  sin  with  his  lipsJ 

7.   The  Coming  oj  JoVs  Three  Friends^  2  :  11-13 

11.  Now  when  Job's  three  friends  heard  of  all  this  evil 
that  was  come  upon  him,  they  came  every  one  from 

1  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  After  much  time  had  passed  his  wife  said  to  him.  ^  Gr.  Sah.  Eth. 

How  long  will  thou  be  steadfast,  saying :  Behold  I  will  wait  a  little  time  expecting  the 
hope  of  my  salvation  ?  For  behold  thy  memorial  has  perished  from  the  earth  —  thy  sons 
and  daughters,  the  labors  and  pangs  of  my  womb,  whom  in  vain  I  bore  with  pains. 
Thou  sitting  in  the  corruption  of  worms  passing  the  night  in  the  open  air,  while  I  even 
as  a  hired  slave  wander  from  place  to  place  and  from  house  to  house,  longing  for  the  set- 
ting of  the  sun,  that  I  may  rest  from  the  hardships  and  toils  which  now  encompass  me. 
3  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  but  say  a  certain  word  unto  the  Lord  and  die.  <  Gr.  Sah.  Eth. 

But  looking  up  he  said.  '  m.  Or,  impious.  *  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  In  all  the  things 

which  happened  to  him.  Targ.  adds,  but  Job  thought  things  in  his  heart. 

g.  Then  said  his  wife  unto  him,  Dost  thou  still  hold  fast 
thine  integrity?  Job's  wife  was  with  Job,  and  not  with  the 
children  at  the  feast,  so  she  naturally  escaped.  Some  ancient 
editor,  as  the  Greek,  Sahidic,  and  Ethiopic  versions  show  (see 
the  addition  from  them  given  above),  felt  that  the  question  of 
Job's  wife  is  altogether  too  brief  to  express  the  feelings  of  a  be- 
reaved and  loquacious  woman  ;  he  therefore  inserted  an  addition 
to  the  text  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  what  he  felt  to  be  an 
artistic  defect  in  the  form  of  the  story.  Renounce  God  and  die. 
Even  the  wife  in  her  despair  became  an  unconscious  ally  of  Satan. 

10.  Foolish.  We  should  read,  as  the  margin  does,  "impious." 
In  the  wisdom  literature  impiety  is  folly,  and  folly  impiety.  Shall 
we  not  receive  evil  ?  The  point  of  view  is  kindred  to  that  of 
Amos  3  :  6.  God  does  everything,  both  good  and  evil.  On  any  mon- 
otheistic view  of  the  world,  however,  God  must  either  do  or  permit 
all  that  is  done.  Job's  phrase  accordingly  becomes  a  classic  ex- 
pression of  resignation  to  the  will  of  God.  Sinned  not  with  his  lips. 
The  writer  does  not  intend  to  imply  that  he  sinned  in  thought. 
The  addition  of  the  Targum,  "but  Job  thought  things  in  his  heart," 
while  true  for  most  men  under  these  conditions,  is  foreign  to  the 
thought  of  the  tale,  which  pictured  Job  as  an  example  of  resignation. 

67 


II  THE   BOOK   OF   JOB 


his  own  place;   Eliphaz  the  Temanite,  and  Bildad  the 
Shuhite,   and  Zophar  the  ^  Naamathite :    and  they 

1  Gr.  the  MincBan. 

II.  Eliphaz  the  Temanite.  In  Gen.  36 :  ii  the  Priestly  writer 
represents  both  Eliphaz  and  Teman  as  clans  or  districts  in  Edom. 
Teman  appears  elsewhere  in  the  Old  Testament  as  a  district  of 
Edom  famed  for  its  wisdom  (see  Jer.  49:  7,  and  Baruch  3:  22) 
or  as  the  most  important  town  of  Edom;  see  Amos  i :  12;  Eze. 
25:13;  Hab.  3:3;  and  Obad.  9.  Most  commentators  have 
taken  this  town  to  be  the  home  of  Job's  friend  Eliphaz.  If  Uz 
lay  in  the  Hauran,  Teman  may  originally  have  been  Tema,  a 
village  which  lies  in  the  northern  end  of  Gebel-ed-Druz  some  two 
days'  journey  to  the  east  of  the  "  Threshing-floor  of  Uz  "  mentioned 
above  (see  note  on  i  :  i).  If  this  were  so,  it  would  be  natural 
that  in  later  times  it  should  have  been  confused  with  the  better- 
known  Teman  in  Edom.  That  there  was  a  tendency  to  magnify 
the  importance  of  Job  and  his  friends  as  time  went  on  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  in  the  Greek,  Sahidic,  and  Ethiopic  versions 
Eliphaz  is  represented  as  king  of  Teman.  Bildad  the  Shuhite. 
*'The  Shuhite"  is  usually  supposed  to  be  a  man  from  the  city  of 
Suhu.  This  was  an  Aramaean  city  on  the  Euphrates.  With 
the  inhabitants  of  this  city  Tiglathpileser  I,  about  iioo  B.C., 
and  Assurnasirpal,  880  B.C.  (both  kings  of  Assyria),  came  into 
conflict.  In  Gen.  25  :  2  Shuah  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  sons  of 
Keturah,  and  recent  commentators  think  that  this  statement 
refers  to  the  city  on  the  Euphrates.  It  is  possible  that  originally 
some  obscure  place  in  the  Hauran  near  to  the  "Threshing-floor  of 
Uz  "  was  intended,  and  that,  when  the  obscure  Tema  of  that 
region  was  thought  to  be  Teman,  Shuah  was  identified  with  the 
more  famous  place  upon  the  Euphrates.  Wetzstein  identifies 
it  with  Es-Suweda  on  the  western  slope  of  Gebel-ed-Druz.  The 
Greek,  Sahidic,  and  Ethiopic  versions  represent  Bildad  as  the 
"Tyrant  of  Shuah."  The  Naamathite.  The  only  Biblical  city 
the  name  of  which  corresponds  to  this  is  Naamah,  Josh.  15:41, 
the  modern  Naaneh,  a  wretched  mud  village  on  the  railway  from 
Jaffa  to  Jerusalem,  but  all  scholars  have  realized  that  this  could 
not  be  the  village  referred  to.  Probably  the  reference  originally 
intended  was  to  a  village  in  the  Hauran  still  called  Naemeh, 
which  is  within  about  a  day's  journey  from  the  "Threshing-floor 
of  Uz."  Later,  when  it  had  become  customary  to  think  of 
Eliphaz  as  a  king  of  a  part  of  Edom  and  of  Bildad  as  tyrant  of 
distant  Suhu  on  the  Euphrates,  Naemeh  was  transformed  into 
Main,  a  city  of  South  Arabia,  by  the  transposition  of  two  Hebrew 

68 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


made  an  appointment  together  to  come  to  bemoan 

12.  him  and  to  comfort  him.  And  when  they  lifted  up 
their  eyes  afar  off,  and  knew  him  not,  they  lifted  up 
their  voice,  and  wept;  and  they  rent  every  one  his 
mantle,  and  sprinkled  dust  upon  their  heads  ^  toward 

13.  heaven.  So  they  sat  down  with  him  upon  the  ground 
seven  days  and  seven  nights,  and  none  spake  a  word 
unto  him :  for  they  saw  that  his  ^  grief  was  very  great. 

II.  Job's  Wail  of  Despair,  Ch.  3 

1.  Would  God  I  had  never  been  conceived  or  born,  3:  i-io 

3.       After  this  opened  Job  his  mouth,  and  cursed  his 

2.  day.     ^  And  Job  answered  and  said : 

1  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  omit  toward  heaven.  m.  ^  Or  pain.  ^  Gr.  Sah.  Vulg.  Ar. 

Eth.  read  only  And  he  said. 

letters.  Thus  the  Greek  and  Sahidic  versions  call  Zophar  "king 
of  Main."  Main  was  an  older  city  than  Saba,  the  Biblical  Sheba, 
and  was  equally  famous  with  it.  It  was  brought  into  the  story 
of  Job  by  that  natural  tendency  to  enlarge  the  area  over  which 
Job's  fame  spread  and  to  glorify  him  by  magnifying  the  rank 
of  his  friends,  which  as  time  went  on  was  the  natural  result  of  the 
fame  that  the  popularity,  first  of  the  story,  and  later  of  the  poem, 
gave  him.  To  bemoan  him  and  to  comfort  him.  There  are  mis- 
fortunes which  it  is  beyond  human  power  to  remedy,  but  even  these 
are  mitigated  by  human  sympathy.  By  the  "sympathizing  tear  " 
of  others  many  a  sufferer  has  found  courage  to  play  the  man. 

12.  Lifted  up  their  voice,  and  wept.  Orientals  are  very  ex- 
pressive and  manifest  in  dramatic  ways  either  sorrow  or  joy. 
Weeping,  rending  of  garments,  and  putting  earth  on  one's  head 
are  customary  ways  with  them  of  expressing  grief ;  see  Josh. 
7:6;    I  Sam.  4:12;  and  Lam.  2  :  10. 

13.  None  spake  a  word  unto  him.  A  beautiful  touch.  Often 
grief  is  too  deep  to  be  reached  by  mere  words.  Silent,  patient 
sympathy  and  tears  are  far  more  expressive.  The  author  and 
the  transmitters  of  this  story  had  sounded  the  depths  of  grief 
and  learned  the  Umitations  of  words. 

I.  After  this.  That  is,  after  the  silence  of  Job's  friends. 
It  is  at  this  point  that  the  poet  breaks  away  from  the  folk  tale 

69 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


3.  Let  the  day  perish  wherein  I  was  born, 

And  the  night  ^  which  said,  ^  There  is  a  man  child 
conceived. 

4.  Let  ^  that  day  be  darkness ; 

Let  not  God  ^  regard  it  from  above, 
Neither  let  the  light  shine  upon  it. 

5.  Let  darkness  and  ^  the  shadow  of  death  claim  it 

for  their  own ; 
Let  a  cloud  dwell  upon  it ; 

1  Gr.  Syr.  Vulg.  Sah.  Targ.  Ar.  Eth.  in  which  it  was  said.  2  Gr.  Sah.  Eth. 

Behold,  a  male;  Syr.  A  man  is  conceived.  '  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  that  night.  *  m. 

Or  inquire  after.  ^  m.  Or  deep  darkness  (and  so  elsewhere) . 

and  begins  his  great  discussion  of  the  problem  of  suffering.  In 
order  to  make  the  connection  he  allows  two  sentences  of  prose  to 
stand  before  the  poem  begins.  Cursed  his  day.  The  day  of  his 
birth,  as  the  following  verses  show.  This  curse  is  the  wild,  half- 
delirious  outcry  of  a  man  beside  himself  with  suffering.  The 
poet  reveals  rare  poetic  genius  in  the  way  he  has  portrayed  the 
reckless  utterances  of  one  wild  with  pain  from  whom  weakness 
has  taken  the  power  of  self-control. 

3.  Let  the  day  perish.  We  should  read  as  the  Gr.,  Sah.,  and 
Eth.  versions  suggest : 

"  Perish  the  day  in  which  I  was  born, 
And  the  night  when  they  said,  'It's  a  boy' ! " 

The  reference  is  clearly  to  the  night  of  Job's  birth,  and  not  to 
his  conception.  "It's  a  boy"  is  a  quotation  from  the  report  of 
the  midwife  on  that  night. 

4.  Let  that  day  be  darkness.  Each  day  was  supposed  to  have 
a  permanent  existence  and  a  definite  character.  The  day  of 
Job's  birth,  although  it  had  long  passed,  came  around  each  year 
in  the  troop  of  the  days,  bringing  with  it  its  own  malign  character. 
In  the  East  to  this  day  a  curse  is  not  simply  an  angry  expression 
by  which  one  relieves  his  feelings,  but  is  regarded  as  a  kind  of 
permanent  entity  charged  with  energy  for  its  own  accomplish- 
ment. What  follows  presupposes  these  two  considerations. 
Regard  it.     The  Hebrew  means  rather  "seek  it  out." 

5.  The  shadow  of  death.  Rather  "deep  darkness."  Let  all 
that  maketh  black.  The  expression  in  the  Hebrew  is  an  unusual 
one  and  greatly  puzzled  the  ancient  translators,  as  the  quotations 
from  the  versions  made  above  show.      Perhaps  we  should  trans- 

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THE   BOOK  OF  JOB 


^  Let  all  that  maketh  black  the  day  terrify  it. 

6.  As  for  that  night,  let  thick  darkness  seize  upon  it : 
2  Let  it  not  rejoice  among  the  days  of  the  year ; 
Let  it  not  come  into  the  number  of  the  months. 

7.  ^  Lo,  let  that  night  be  "^  barren ; 
Let  no  joyful  voice  come  therein. 

8.  Let  them  curse  it  that  curse  the  day, 
Who  are  ^  ready  to  rouse  up  leviathan. 

9.  Let  the  stars  of  the  twilight  thereof  be  dark: 

i  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  May  the  day  be  cursed!  Syr.  May  the  bitter  of  days  terrify  it/ 
Vulg.  and  be  involved  in  bitterness.  Aq.  Targ.  May  they  terrify  it  like  the  bitter  of 
days!  2  m.  gome  ancient  versions  read  JeyomgJ  mm^o.  ^  Gr.  Sah.  5m/.     Syr. 

Vulg.  Ar.  Eth.  omit.  *  m.  Or  solitary.  ^  m.  Or  skilful. 

late:    "May  the  deep  gloom  of  day."     Terrify  it.      So  that  it 
shall  fear  to  reappear  every  year. 

6.  Among  the  days  of  the  year.  According  to  the  ideas  men- 
tioned in  the  note  on  v.  4,  Job  hopes  that  his  curse  will  erase  this 
day  from  the  calendar,  so  that  it  will  not  continually  recur  with 
each  revolving  year. 

7.  Be  barren.  Job  does  not  wish  it  to  do  to  another,  by  bring- 
ing another  life  into  the  world,  the  wrong  it  did  him.  No  joyful 
voice.     No  birthday  rejoicing. 

8.  Who  are  ready.  "  Ready  "  in  the  sense  that  they  have  the 
skill  to  do  it.  Leviathan.  Literally,  the  "twister  "  or  "coiler," 
was  primarily  a  name  for  a  mythological  serpent  or  dragon  that 
could  darken  the  sun.  It  is  in  Isa.  27:  i  and  Ps.  74:  13  and  14 
connected  with  the  sea.  Scholars  have  for  some  years  recognized 
that  this  mythological  dragon,  which  is  in  the  Old  Testament 
frequently  called  Rahah  also  (see  Job  9  :  13  ;  26:  12  and  13;  Ps. 
8g  :  10),  is  a  popular  adaptation  of  the  dragon  Tiamat  of  the 
Babylonian  Creation  Epic.  Tiamat  was  the  dragon  of  the 
primeval  abyss  who  attempted  to  overcome  all  the  beneficent 
gods,  and  who  fought  a  great  battle  with  Marduk,  the  god  of 
light.  Although  Marduk  overcame  her,  she  became  the  symbol 
of  the  sun-darkener.  Enchanters  were  supposed  to  have  the 
power  of  arousing  her,  so  that  she  should  darken  the  sun,  or  of 
quieting  her.  This  would  accomplish  for  the  day  of  Job's  birth 
just  what  he  wished,  and  is  clearly  the  reference  here.  The  name 
of  this  mythical  monster.  Leviathan,  was  sometimes  applied  figur- 
atively to  the  whale,  as  in  Ps.  104 :  25  and  26 ;  and  sometimes  to 
the  crocodile,  as  in  Job  41. 

71 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


Let  it  look  for  light,  but  have  none ; 

Neither  let  it  behold  the  eyelids  of  the  morning : 

10.  Because  it  shut  not  up  the  doors  of  my  mother's 

womb, 
Nor  hid  trouble  from  mine  eyes. 

2  Would  God  I  had  died  at  birth,  3:  11-19 

11.  Why  died  I  not  ^  from  the  womb  ? 

Why  did  I  not  give  up  the  ghost  when  I  came  out 
of  the  belly  ? 

12.  Why  did  the  knees  receive  me  ? 

Or  why  the  breasts,  that  I  should  suck  ? 

13.  For  now  should  I  have  lien  down  and  been  quiet ; 
I  should  have  slept ;  then  had  I  been  at  rest : 

1  Gr.  Eth.  in  the  womb. 

9.  The  eyelids  of  the  morning.  A  beautiful  poetic  figure. 
Possibly  it  refers  to  a  dawn  myth  in  which  the  dawn  was  thought 
of  as  a  beautiful  woman.  Thus  we  have  in  Isa.  14:  12,  "O  day 
star,  son  of  the  Dawn." 

10.  Because  it  shut  not  up  the  doors  of  my  mother's  womb. 
This  verse  gives  the  reason  why  Job  has  uttered  the  preceding 
curses ;  it  was  because  his  birth,  which  exposed  him  to  all  his 
present  suffering,  had  not  been  prevented.  The  day  is  vividly 
personified  in  the  expression  it  shut  not  up,  and  there  is  poetically 
attributed  to  it  a  power  that  belongs  only  to  God. 

11.  Why  died  I  not  from  the  womb?  As  the  wish  of  the  pre- 
ceding verses  that  Job  had  never  been  born  could  not  be  fulfilled, 
he  next  asks  why  he  could  not  have  died  from  birth. 

12.  Why  did  the  knees  receive  me?  The  child  was  laid  at  birth 
upon  the  knees  of  the  father,  who  had  the  right  of  acknowledging 
it  his  and  of  stating  whether  he  would  become  responsible  for  its 
maintenance,  see  Gen.  50 :  23.  The  same  was  true  at  times  of  a 
foster  mother,  see  Gen.  30 :  3.  Why  the  breasts,  that  I  should 
suck?  In  Job's  despair  these  acts  of  kindness  in  his  unconscious 
infancy  by  which  he  had  been  kept  alive  are  for  the  moment 
regarded  as  personal  injuries.  He  holds  those  who  performed 
them  responsible  for  his  present  sufferings. 

72 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


14.  With  kings  and  counsellors  of  the  earth, 
Which  ^  built  up  waste  places  for  themselves ; 

15.  Or  with  princes  that  had  gold, 
Who  filled  their  houses  with  silver : 

16.  Or  as  an  ^  hidden  untimely  birth  I  had  not  been ; 
As  infants  which  never  saw  light. 

1  m.  Or  built  solitary  places.    Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  who  were  upborne  on  swords. 

2  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  coming  forth. 

14.  "With  kings  and  counsellors.  Death  is  the  great  leveller. 
The  unknown  man  and  the  nameless  child  rest  in  death  with 
kings.  This  thought  finds  expression  in  Isa.  14 :  9 ;  Eze.  32:  29 
and  31.  Bryant  in  his  Thanatopsis  has  expressed  the  same  thought : 

"Thou  shalt  lie  down 
With  patriarchs  of  the  infant  world  —  with  kings, 
The  powerful  of  the  earth  —  the  wise,  the  good, 
Fair  forms,  and  hoary  seers  of  ages  past, 
All  in  one  mighty  sepulchre." 

Built  up  waste  places  for  themselves.  This  is  an  obscure  expres- 
sion, and  the  text  is,  perhaps,  corrupt.  Some  of  the  ancient 
versions  read  "swords"  instead  of  "waste  places,"  but  such  a 
reading  is  manifestly  inappropriate  to  the  context.  The  word 
rendered  "waste  places"  is  used  often  in  the  Old  Testament 
for  ruined  cities,  see  Isa.  58:  12;  61:4;  Eze.  36:  10  and  :^yi 
Mai.  1 :  4.  Since  one  monarch  was  apt  to  let  cities  built  by  his 
predecessors  fall  into  ruins,  some  have  thought  that  the  meaning 
here  is  "who  built  cities  which  are  now  in  ruins."  Since  the 
Hebrew  word  has  a  general  resemblance  to  the  Coptic  and  Arabic 
word  for  pyramids  some  have  supposed  that  we  should  render 
here:  "who  built  for  themselves  pyramids."  Cheyne  would 
amend  the  text  so  as  to  read  "who  built  everlasting  sepulchres." 
In  whatever  way  the  expression  is  understood,  it  is  clear  that  it 
refers  to  the  great  works  of  monarchs,  and  is  parallel  to  the 

"princes  that  had  gold. 
And  filled  their  houses  with  silver  " 
of  V.  15. 

16.  Hidden  untimely  birth.  The  present  text  is  appropriate 
in  that  a  child  born  dead  is  "hidden  "  or  buried  at  once  out  of 
sight.  For  sentiments  similar  to  those  of  this  verse  see  Jer. 
20:18;   Eccl.  4 :  2  and  3 ;   6:3;    7:1. 

73 


3  :  17  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


17.  There  the  wicked  cease  from  ^  troubling; 
And  there  the  weary  be  at  rest. 

18.  There  the  prisoners  are  at  ease  together; 
They  hear  not  the  voice  of  the  taskmaster. 

19.  The  small  and  great  are  there ; 

And  the  servant  is  free  from  his  master. 

3.   Why  do  those  who  in  Wretchedness  long  for  Death  con- 
tinue to  Live?  3 :  20-26 

20.  Wherefore  is  light  given  to  him  that  is  in  misery, 
And  life  unto  the  bitter  in  soul ; 

1  m.  raging. 

17.  Troubling.  The  Hebrew  word  means  ''raging."  It  may 
mean  "troubling  others,"  or  it  may  refer  to  the  effect  of  the 
wicked's  own  restlessness  upon  themselves.  The  last  is  probably 
the  reference  here.  The  weary  be  at  rest.  The  unbroken  calm 
of  Sheol  seems  to  Job  in  comparison  with  his  present  suffering 
more  desirable  than  anything  else. 

18.  Prisoners.  Rather  "captives,"  who  are  forced  as  slaves 
to  labor  for  foreign  masters,  or  on  public  work  for  the  king. 
Taskmaster.  See  Ex.  3:7.  He  was  the  counterpart  of  the 
"overseer  "  who  in  the  days  of  American  slavery  goaded  the  slave 
to  his  utmost  exertions. 

19.  The  servant  is  free  from  his  master.  The  inequalities 
of  earth  vanish  in  Sheol.  Death  is  the  great  leveller.  Small 
and  great  are  there  on  an  equality.  In  the  entire  lack  of  sensa- 
tion no  one  is  exalted  above  another,  no  one  toils  for  another, 
none  suffers  the  humiliation  of  subjugation,  nor  the  restlessness 
of  an  uneasy  conscience  or  of  unfulfilled  desire,  nor  the  pains  of 
cruel  disease  or  bereavement.     Hence  Job  longed  for  this  haven. 

20.  Wherefore  is  light  given.  In  contrast  with  the  peaceful- 
ness  of  death  the  misery  of  life  seems  intolerable.  The  acuteness 
of  Job's  sufferings  leads  him  to  regard  all  life  for  the  moment  as 
full  of  agony,  and  a  curse  rather  than  a  blessing.  He  puts  the 
question  at  first  in  an  impersonal  way,  but  it  is  clear  from  v.  23 
that  he  has  God  in  mind.  In  this  first  wild  outcry  of  agony,  accord- 
ingly. Job  charges  God  with  cruelty  —  a  thought  that  comes  to  the 
surface  again  and  again  as  the  discussion  with  his  friends  proceeds. 
To  him  that  is  in  misery.  The  inquiry  is  made  general  at  first, 
but  in  V.  24  it  is  made  clear  that  Job  is  thinking  of  himself. 

74 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


21.  Which  1  long  for  death,  but  it  cometh  not ; 

And  dig  for  it  more  than  for  hid  treasures ; 
2  2.  Which  rejoice  ^  exceedingly, 

And  are  glad,  when  they  can  find  the  grave  ? 
23.  Why  is  light  given  to  a  man  whose  way  is  hid, 

And  whom  God  hath  hedged  in  ? 

1  m.  Or  wait.  2  m.  Or  unto  exultation. 

21.  And  dig  for  it  more  than  for  hid  treasures.  A  very  vivid 
figure.  In  an  old  country  like  Palestine  hoards  of  gold,  the  owners 
of  which  have  long  since  passed  away  and  been  forgotten,  are 
sometimes  found.  Such  a  discovery  was  made  at  Beit  Degan 
(the  ancient  Beth  Dagon)  in  the  spring  of  1903.  Such  occasional 
finds  fire  the  imagination  of  the  peasant  to  hope  that  he  may  be 
the  fortunate  discoverer  of  such  a  treasure.  Thompson  (Land 
and  Book,  p.  135),  says:  "I  have  heard  of  diggers  actually  faint- 
ing when  they  have  come  upon  even  a  single  coin.  They  become 
positively  frantic,  dig  all  night  with  desperate  earnestness,  and 
continue  work  till  utterly  exhausted.  There  are  at  this  hour 
hundreds  of  persons  thus  engaged  all  over  the  country.  Not  a 
few  spend  their  last  farthing  in  these  ruinous  efforts."  In  Egypt 
we  hear  of  such  search  for  treasure  seven  hundred  years  before  the 
time  of  our  poet,  and  our  poet  had  been  in  Egj^t. 

22.  Which  rejoice  exceedingly,  and  are  glad,  when  they  can 
find  the  grave  ?  The  Hebrew  text  is  here  unusual  and  perhaps 
corrupt.  The  Gr.  Sah.  and  Eth.  versions  read  simply:  "And  are 
beside  themselves  for  joy  if  they  find  it."  This  would  make  the 
comparison  a  tristich  as  follows  : 

"Who  long  for  death,  and  it  cometh  not, 
Who  dig  for  it  more  than  for  hid  treasures, 
And  who  are  beside  themselves  with  joy,  if  they  find  it." 

This  is  perhaps   right,  though   the  Greek  translators  may  have 
simply  omitted  some  difficult  words. 

23.  Whom  God  hath  hedged  in.  Job,  like  many  another  suf- 
ferer, feels  like  a  caged  bird.  There  is  no  escape.  '  In  whatever 
direction  he  turns  for  relief  he  but  beats  his  suffering  soul  against 
the  iron  bars  of  a  God-ordained  fate.  His  word  "hedged  in" 
is  a  quotation  from  the  language  of  Satan  in  i  :  10,  only  now 
it  is  the  hedge  of  a  crushing  fate  and  not  of  protection.  The 
poet  has  purposely  made  Job  use  the  same  word  in  this  widely 
different  sense  to  emphasize  the  contrast  of  his  present  condition 
in  comparison  with  his  former  one. 

75 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


24.  For  my  sighing  cometh  ^  before  I  eat, 
And  my  roarings  are  poured  out  like  water. 

25.  For  2  the  thing  which  I  fear  cometh  upon  me, 
And  that  which  I  am  afraid  of  cometh  unto  me. 

26.  3 1  am  not  at  ease,  neither  am  I  quiet,  neither 

have  I  rest ; 
But  trouble  cometh. 

III.  The  Great  Debate  on  the  Meaning  and  Cause 
OF  Suffering,  Chs.  4-31 

I.   The  First  Speech  of  Eliphaz,  Chs.  4,  5 
4.  Then  answered  Eliphaz  the  Temanite,  and  said, 

2.  *  If  one  assay  to  commune  with  thee,  wilt  thou 

be  grieved  ? 

1  m.  Or  like  my  meat.  '  m.  Or  the  thing  which  I  feared  is  come,  etc.  3  m. 

Or  /  was  not  at  ease  .  .  .  yet  trouble  came.  *  Or.  Sah.  Eth.  read  Has  it  not  fre- 

quently been  spoken  to  thee  in  suffering?  Aq.  Sym.  Th.  Vulg.  //  we  undertake  to  speak 
with  thee,  wilt  thou  be  grieved  ? 

24.  Before  I  eat.     This  gives  no  good  meaning,  and  it  is  better 
to  read  with  the  margin,  "like  my  meat." 

25.  The  thing  which  I  feared.     Job  here  returns  from  general 
to  personal  statements.     We  should  render  vs.  25,  26 : 

"  When  I  fear  an  evil,  it  cometh  upon  me, 
And  whatsoever  I  dread,  it  overtakes  me ; 
I  have  no  ease,  neither  quiet,  nor  rest, 
But  trouble  cometh." 

The  poet  has  given  a  striking  picture  of  one  phase  of  a  terrible 
illness  —  the  suffering  which  comes  from  shattered  nerves.  It 
is  not  only  what  the  patient  suffers,  but  what  he  dreads,  which 
forms  the  exquisite  torture.  Then  the  power  of  the  mind  over 
the  body,  especially  in  disease,  to  bring  about  a  physical  realiza- 
tion of  its  own  fears  adds  greatly  to  the  patient's  difficulties. 
The  author  of  this  poem  had  been  a  close  observer  of  illnesses. 

(i)    The  surprise  of  Eliphaz  at  Job's  despair,  4  :  i-ii. 

2.  If  one  assay  to  commune  with  thee,  wilt  thou  be  grieved  ? 
"Commune"  is  old  English  for  "speak."     Notice  the  gentle, 

76 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


But  who  can  withhold  himself  from  speaking  ? 

3.  Behold,  thou  hast  instructed  many, 

And  thou  hast  strengthened  the  weak  hands. 

4.  Thy  words  have  upholden  him  that  was  falling, 
And  thou  hast  confirmed  the  ^  feeble  knees. 

1  m.  Heb.  bowing. 

even  tender,  beginning  which  Eliphaz  makes.  The  friends,  like 
Job  himself,  were  in  the  dark  as  to  why  Job  was  thus  afiflicted. 
The  reader  has  been  let  into  the  secret  by  the  prologue,  but  not 
so  the  actors  in  the  poem.  For  them  the  curtain  of  heaven  had 
not  been  withdrawn,  and  they  were  left  to  guess  at  causes  in  a 
purely  human  way.  Eliphaz  and  his  companions  fully  believed 
that  Job  had  been  a  good  man,  and  their  theology  could  not  then 
account  for  his  misfortunes.  They  had  sat  before  him  in  dumb 
sympathy,  but  with  puzzled  minds.  Then  came  Job's  wild  out- 
cry :  his  cursing  of  his  birth,  his  longing  for  death,  his  hint  that 
God  was  responsible  for  his  suffering.  This  greatly  shocked 
the  listeners.  Job  did  not  speak  as  a  religious  man  ought  to. 
Their  theology  had  all  through  the  seven  days  made  them  suspect 
that  Job  had  been  guilty  of  some  terrible  sin,  or  his  terrible 
troubles  would  not  have  come  upon  him.  His  reckless  speech 
confirmed  this  suspicion.  So  Eliphaz,  the  elder  of  the  listeners, 
undertakes  to  comfort  Job,  and  by  correction  to  bring  him  back 
to  views  of  life  that  accord  with  the  orthodox  notions  of  the 
divine  administration.  His  former  integrity  is  a  ground  for  hope 
of  God's  forgiveness,  but  his  sin,  which  is  in  process  of  punish- 
ment, must  be  repented  of.  Although  Eliphaz  had  not  the  in- 
sight tp  see  that  most  of  that  which  shocked  him  in  what  Job 
had  said  was  but  the  irresponsible  utterance  of  a  man  beside  him- 
self with  pain,  he  nevertheless  had  enough  sympathetic  insight  to 
know  that  Job's  condition  required  the  most  gentle  and  tactful 
handling ;  hence  the  considerate  inquiry  with  which  the  verse 
begins.  "Wilt  thou  be  grieved?"  is  equivalent  to,  "will  it  be 
too  much  for  thee?  " 

3.  Behold,  thou  hast  instructed  many.  It  strikes  Eliphaz 
as  a  surprise  that  one  who  has  instructed  others  how  to  bear  sor- 
row (see  what  Job  says  of  himself  in  29  :  15  and  16)  should  him- 
self so  completely  break  down  under  it.  Weak  hands.  A  sign 
of  helplessness  and  despondency,  see  2  Sam.  4:  i  and  Tsa.  13  :  7. 

4.  Feeble  knees.  Read  with  the  margin  "tottering  knees." 
The  figure  is  of  one  staggering  under  a  heavy  load.  Compare 
Isa.  35  :  3  and  4;   Heb.  12:12. 

77 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


5.  But    now    it    is    come    unto    thee,    and  thou 

1  faintest; 
It  toucheth  thee,  and  thou  art  troubled. 

6.  Is  not  thy  fear  of  God  thy  confidence. 
And  thy  hope  the  integrity  of  thy  ways? 

7.  Remember,  I  pray  thee,  who  ever  perished,  being 

innocent  ? 
Or  where  were  the  upright  cut  off  ? 

8.  According  as  I  have  seen,  they  that  plow  iniquity, 
And  sow  ^  trouble,  reap  the  same. 

9.  By  the  breath  of  God  they  perish, 

1  m.  Or  art  grieved.  2  m,  Qr  mischief. 


5.  Thou  faintest.  Thou  hast  broken  down,  or  lost  thy  self- 
possession.  Doubtless  Job  in  comforting  others  had  pointed  out 
to  them  such  aspects  of  divine  providence  and  the  uses  of  adver- 
sity in  God's  hands,  that  they  were  consoled.  Eliphaz  is  sur- 
prised that  such  consolations  do  not  occur  to  Job  now.  He  does  not 
mean  to  be  sarcastic.  His  mood  is  entirely  gentle  and  friendly. 
He  rather  wishes  to  recall  to  Job  that  which  Job  well  knows. 

6.  Is  not  thy  fear  of  God  thy  confidence  ?  In  comforting 
others  Job  had  probably  himself  used  such  arguments.  Eliphaz 
believed  that  Job's  life  had  been  essentially  good.  There  might 
have  been  grave  slips,  but  his  general  integrity  was  ground  for 
believing  that  God  would  not  utterly  destroy  him. 

7.  "WIio  ever  perished,  being  innocent?  This  is  not  said  here 
to  prove  Job  a  sinner,  but  rather  to  encourage  him.  He  has  been 
on  the  whole  a  righteous  man,  and  God  will  yet  deliver  him. 

8.  As  I  have  seen.  Eliphaz  had  tried  this  view  of  life  in  his  per- 
sonal experience  and  observation,  and  wished  to  testify  that  it  had 
stood  the  test.  Plow  iniquity,  and  sow  trouble.  An  agricultural  fig- 
ure forcibly  indicating  that  they  make  a  regular  business  of  a  life  of 
sin  (compare  Hos.  10  :  13).  Job  had  not  done  that.  Whatever  fault 
had  brought  upon  him  his  present  calamities,  his  life  had  been  de- 
voted on  the  whole  to  the  business  of  righteousness.  Hence  this  is 
mentioned  for  Job's  encouragement.  Possibly  Eliphaz  dwelt  upon 
it  also  partly  as  a  warning  to  Job,  lest  from  this  time  onward  he 
make  the  sin,  which  had  already  brought  such  havoc  into  his  life,  a 
regular  habit. 

78 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


And  by  the  blast  of  his  anger  are  they  consumed. 

10.  The  roaring  of  the  lion,  and  the  voice  of  the  fierce 

lion, 
And  the  teeth  of  the  ^  young  lions,  are  broken. 

11.  The  old  lion  perisheth  for  lack  of  prey, 

And   the   whelps   of   the   lioness   are   scattered 
abroad. 

12.  Now  a  thing  was  ^  secretly  brought  to  me, 
And  mine  ear  received  a  whisper  thereof. 

L  *  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  dragons.  *  m.  Heb.  brought  by  stealth. 

g.  The  blast  of  his  anger.  It  consumes  as  the  hot  sirocco,  or 
wind  from  the  desert,  withers  vegetation.  Compare  Isa.  40 :  7  ; 
and  Amos  i  :  2. 

10.  The  roaring  of  the  lion.  Verses  10,  11  compare  the  de- 
struction of  the  wicked  with  the  breaking  up  of  a  den  of  lions.  In 
the  Hebrew  five  different  words  are  used  for  different  sorts  of 
lions.  The  Semitic  languages  had  numerous  words  by  which  to 
designate  the  lion.  It  is  said  that  the  Arabs  had  four  hundred 
synonyms  for  him.  In  the  attack  pictured  by  Eliphaz  the  lions 
were  not  all  killed,  but  the  teeth  of  those  fully  grown  were  broken. 
No  longer  able  to  tear  their  prey,  they  perished  of  hunger.  When 
the  old  lions  had  died,  the  whelps  were  scattere-d.  As  Eliphaz 
spoke,  he  either  unconsciously  enlarged  upon  a  familiar  theme, 
or  else,  forgetting  for  a  moment  his  sympathy,  is  intent  to  deter 
Job  from  habitual  sin. 

(2)   Eliphaz  contrasts  the  holiness  of  God   with  that  of  all  creatures, 
4 : 12-21 

12.  Now  a  thing  was  secretly  brought  to  me.  Having  sought 
to  induce  Job  to  regard  his  general  integrity  as  a  ground  of  hope, 
and  having  made  the  general  statement  clear  that  sinners  only  are 
punished,  Eliphaz  now  seeks  gently  to  lead  Job  to  realize  that 
his  suffering  must  come  from  some  sin  in  himself.  Eliphaz 
proceeds  very  cautiously  and  with  great  consideration  by  nar- 
rating a  vision  or  dream  in  which  this  truth  was  enforced  upon 
him.  The  poet  in  the  description  of  this  dream  has  achieved  one 
of  the  greatest  of  literary  triumph?.  He  has  succeeded  in  vividly 
conveying  such  a  sense  of  vague  horror  at  the  impalpable  and 
unknown  that  the  reader  feels  something  of  the  horror.     Eliphaz 

79 


13  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


13.  In  thoughts  from  the  visions  of  the  night, 
When  deep  sleep  falleth  on  men, 

14.  Fear  came  upon  me,  and  trembling, 
Which  made  all  my  bones  to  shake. 

15.  Then  ^  a  spirit  passed  before  my  face ; 
The  hair  of  my  flesh  stood  up. 

16.  It  stood  still,  but  I  could  not  discern  the  appear- 

ance thereof ; 

1  m.  Or  a  breath  passed  over. 


is  represented  as  living  over  again  the  terror  of  his  dream  as  he 
relates  it,  and  by  interesting  Job  in  the  details  of  this  personal 
experience  he  is  pictured  as  seeking  so  to  draw  the  thoughts  of 
the  sufferer  away  from  himself,  that  he  might  be  prepared  for 
the  truth  which  Eliphaz  desired  him  to  grasp. 

13.  Visions  of  the  night.  The  mystery  of  dreams  greatly 
impressed  the  ancient  world.  It  was  thought  that  God  made 
known  his  will  through  them,  or  disclosed  the  future.  This  is 
especially  the  view  of  the  writer  of  the  E  document  in  the  Pen- 
tateuch (see  Gen.  20  :  6  ;  28  :  12  ;  37  :  5  ;  40  :  5).  In  spite  of  the 
more  spiritual  conception  of  the  prophets,  who  found  the  vision 
of  God  in  direct  intellectual  and  spiritual  insight,  the  essentially 
divine  character  of  dreams  lingered  on  to  the  latest  period  of  Old 
Testament  writing.  Thus  we  are  told  that  Daniel  received  his 
revelations  in  "visions  of  the  night"  (Dan.  2:  19  and  28).  To 
Eliphaz  accordingly  the  fact  that  the  thoughts  that  follow  were 
impressed  upon  him  in  a  night  vision  stamped  them  with  divine 
authority.  When  deep  sleep  falleth  on  men.  At  this  time 
their  attention  is  not  outwardly  distracted ;  their  minds  are  open 
to  the  unseen  world.     Such  was  the  ancient  point  of  view. 

14.  Fear  came  upon  me.  The  approach  of  the  uncanny 
spectre  was  subconsciously  apprehended,  so  that  the  fear  and 
trembling  began  even  before  the  vague  spiritual  shape  was  visible. 

15.  A  spirit  passed.  It  is  better  with  the  margin  to  read 
"breath."  He  saw  nothing,  but  felt  the  moving  of  the  air. 
What  he  saw  is  described  in  the  next  verse.  The  hair  of  my 
flesh  stood  up.  The  horror  of  fear  ran  over  the  whole  body. 
The  rising  of  the  hair  is  a  familiar  figure  for  the  expression  of 
fear,  common,  for  example,  in  Virgil. 

16.  It  stood  still.  These  and  the  words  which  follow  convey 
vividly  the  vague  impression  of  a  supernatural  presence  which 

80 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


A  form  was  before  mine  eyes : 

^  There  was  silence,  and  I  heard  a  voice,  saying, 

17.  Shall  mortal  man  ^  be  more  just  than  God  ? 
Shall  a  man  ^  be  more  pure  than  his  Maker  ? 

18.  Behold,  he  putteth  no  trust  in  his  servants; 
And  his  angels  he  chargeth  with  folly : 


1  m.  Or  heard  a  still  voice.     Better,  Silence  I    I  heard  a  voice.  ^  m.  Or  be  just 

before  God.  ^  m.  Or  be  pure  before  his  Maker. 

the  dream  itself  made  upon  Eliphaz.  A  form  was  before  mine 
eyes.  He  seemed  to  discern  an  indistinct  outline,  while  he  could 
not  distinguish  individual  features.  There  was  silence.  We 
gain  a  more  vivid  picture  by  translating  the  Hebrew  literally, 
omitting  the  words  in  italics.  Eliphaz  makes  the  scene  live  again 
as  he  says  :   "Silence  :   I  heard  a  voice  !  " 

17.  More  just  than  God.  While  this  is  a  possible  translation 
of  the  words,  it  clearly  gives  an  impossible  meaning.  The 
thought  that  man  could  be  more  just  than  God  is  too  absurd 
ever  to  have  suggested  itself  to  the  orthodox  Eliphaz.  Even  Job, 
in  the  heat  of  the  later  debate,  though  he  suggests  that  God  is 
unrighteous,  never  suggests  that  man  can  be  more  righteous  than 
he.  The  vision  of  Eliphaz,  too,  was  experienced  before  he  knew 
what  Job  was  going  to  say,  'or  even  of  Job's  calamity.  A  better 
translation  is  given  by  the  margin.  This  rendering,  ''Shall  mortal 
man  be  just  before  God?  "  is  supported  by  the  Greek,  Sahidic, 
and  Ethiopic  versions,  and  is  such  a  thought  as  Eliphaz  could 
entertain.  The  Vulgate  approaches  it  by  translating:  "Shall 
man  be  accounted  just  in  comparison  with  God?  "  A  man  more 
pure  than  his  Maker.  The  thought  is  as  absurd  as  to  suppose 
that  water  will  rise  to  a  higher  level  than  the  source  that  feeds  it. 
We  should  read  with  the  margin  :   "be  pure  before  his  Maker." 

18.  His  servants.  As  the  following  line  shows,  this  refers  to 
the  angels.  His  angels  he  chargeth  with  folly.  In  the  oldest 
part  of  the  book  of  Enoch  (chs.  1-36),  which  was  probably 
written  between  200  and  170  B.C.,  angels  are  divided  into  good 
and  bad,  and  the  bad  angels  play  an  important  part  in  the  cor- 
ruption of  the  world.  This  distinction  was  accepted  by  later 
Judaism  and  Christianity,  see  Matt.  25:41;  Eph.  6:  12;  Rev. 
12:  7.  In  earlier  parts  of  the  Old  Testament,  however,  angels 
were  undifferentiated ;  they  might  do  anything  either  good  or 
bad,  see  Gen.  6:2;  i  Kgs.  22  :  21-23.  The  conception  of  angels 
in  the  poem  here  is  intermediate  between   these  two;    it  corre- 

G  81 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


19.  How  much  more  them  that  dwell  in  houses  of 

clay, 
Whose  foundation  is  in  the  dust, 
^  Which  are  crushed  ^  before  the  moth  ! 

20.  2  Betwixt  morning  and  evening   they  are  *  de- 

stroyed : 
They  perish  for  ever  without  any  regarding  it. 

1  Gr  Sah.  Eth.  Whom  he  crushed.         *  m.  Or,  like.         *  m.  Or  From  morning  unto 
evening.         *  m.  Heb.  broken  in  pieces. 

spends  to  the  conception  of  them  in  the  prologue,  chs.  i  and  2. 
There  Satan  was  still  an  angel,  but  God  regards  him  as  holding 
erroneous  views  of  human  virtue,  charges  him  with  it,  and  tries 
to  convert  him  from  it.  "His  angels  he  chargeth  with  folly," 
implies  just  this  sort  of  thing.  The  distinction  of  angels  into 
classes  as  in  Enoch  and  the  New  Testament  is  not  here  contem- 
plated. Folly.  The  word  in  the  original  is  difficult  as  it  occurs 
nowhere  else  in  Hebrew.  It  appears  to  come  from  one  of  two 
stems  which  in  Arabic  and  Ethiopic  respectively  mean  "to  wan- 
der," "go  astray."  "Error  "  rather  than  folly  seems  to  be  the 
meaning. 

19.  Houses  of  clay  .  .  .  the  dust.  A  reference  to  the 
account  of  man's  creation  in  the  J  document  in  Genesis.  See  Gen. 
2  :  7  ;  3  :  19.  A  similar  thought  is  expressed  in  Ps.  78  :  39  :  "He 
remembered  that  they  were  but  flesh."  There  is  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment none  of  the  Persian  conception  that  matter  is  inherently 
corrupt,  but  these  passages  recognize  that  the  flesh  is  frail  and 
that  because  of  this  men  are  exposed  to  temptations  to  which 
pure  spirits  are  free.  Which  are  crushed  before  the  moth. 
The  Greek  version  translated:  "he  crushes  them  like  a  moth  "; 
the  Sahidic  and  Vulgate:  "They  are  crushed  like  a  moth." 
The  idea  being  not  that  the  moth  consumes  the  body,  so  that  it 
is  crushed  before  them,  but  that  the  body  is  fragile  like  them  and 
is  as  easily  crushed. 

20.  Betv/ixt  morning  and  evening  they  are  destroyed.  The 
figure  of  the  moth  is  still  in  the  poet's  mind.  He  thinks  of  them 
as  living  less  than  a  day,  and  makes  their  life  a  vivid  figure  of 
the  brevity  of  human  existence.  Without  any  regarding  it. 
The  killing  of  a  moth,  which  is  at  the  best  but  an  ephemerid,  is 
too  insignificant  an  event  to  attract  attention.  It  becomes  a 
powerful  figure  of  the  slight  impression  that  the  death  of  a  man 
makes  in  the  universe. 

S2 


THE  BOOK   OF  JOB  5:2 


21.  ^  Is  not  their  tent-cord  plucked  up  within  them  ? 

They  die,  and  that  without  wisdom. 
5.  Call  now ;  is  there  any  that  will  answer  thee  ? 

And  to  which  of  the  ^  holy  ones  wilt  thou  turn  ? 
2.  For  vexation  killeth  the  foolish  man, 

^  m.  Or  Is  not  their  excellency  which  is  in  tfietn  removed?        *  m.  See  15 :  15. 

21.  Their  tent-cord  plucked  up.  The  reading  of  the  margin, 
"Is  not  their  excellency  which  is  in  them  removed?"  while  a 
possible  translation,  is  far  inferior  to  that  of  the  text.  There  is 
much  analogy  for  taking  the  word  which  the  margin  renders 
"excellency"  as  "tent-cord,"  and  the  figure  is  clearly  drawn 
from  nomadic  life.  The  tent  is  easily  "plucked  up  "  and  moved 
away.  It  is  at  the  best  but  a  transitory  dwelUng,  and  when 
removed  leaves  few  traces  of  its  presence.  It  thus  becomes,  as 
in  Isa.  38:  12,  a  powerful  figure  of  the  brevity  of  human  Ufe. 
Without  wisdom.  As  the  angels  are  charged  with  "error,"  so 
man,  more  frail,  ends  his  brief  life  "without  wisdom." 

(3)  Eliphaz  applies  the  principle  to  J  oh,  5:1-7 

1.  To  which  of  the  holy  ones  wilt  thou  turn?  "Holy  ones" 
refers  to  "angels,"  to  whom  Eliphaz  had  referred  in  4:  18.  Job 
had  implied  in  his  complaint  (3 :  23)  that  God  was  to  be 
blamed  for  his  suffering.  Eliphaz  believes  that  it  is  due  to  some 
sin  in  Job.  It  occurred  to  Eliphaz  that  Job  might  appeal  to  one 
of  the  angels,  either  to  take  his  part  against  God,  or  to  intercede 
with  God.  In  Bab34onia  penitents  often  called  upon  one  god  to 
intercede  with  another,  and  the  idea  seems  to  have  been  wide- 
spread in  the  Semitic  world  that  such  intercession  was  possible. 
Among  monotheistic  Semites  it  was  naturally  angels  who  were 
thought  to  perform  that  office,  see  Goran,  Sura  53  :  26.  Such  is 
the  thought  here,  though  no  such  idea  is  expressed  elsewhere  in 
the  Old  Testament.  Ch.  33  :  23  is  generally  cited  by  scholars 
as  a  parallel,  but  it  is  probable  that  no  angel  is  referred  to  there,  but 
a  messenger  only,  and  that  by  the  messenger  Elihu  means  himself. 
The  idea  of  angelic  intercession  is,  however,  found  in  the  Ethiopic 
Enoch,  a  Jewish  book  considerably  later  than  Job  ;  see  Eth.  Enoch 
97:3;  99:  16  —  a  part  of  the  work  written  between  104-79  B.C.  As 
the  thought  is  one  that  belongs  to  the  old  Semitic  inheritance,  and 
was  entertained  by  Jews  later,  it  is  not  strange  to  find  it  here. 

2.  For  vexation  killeth  the  foolish  man.  The  preceding  verse 
had  asked  if  Job  would  appeal  to  any,  even  to  angels,  against  God. 
This  verse  gives  the  reason  why  such  an  appeal  should  not  be 

83 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


And  ^  jealousy  slayeth  the  silly  one. 

3.  I  have  seen  the  foolish  taking  root : 
But  suddenly  ^  I  cursed  his  habitation. 

4.  His  children  are  far  from  safety, 
And  they  are  crushed  ^  in  the  gate, 
Neither  is  there  any  to  deliver  them. 

5.  Whose  harvest  the  hungry  eateth  up, 

^  And  taketh  it  even  out  of  the  thorns, 

1  m.  Or  indignation.  2  Gr.  Sah.  Syr.  Ar.  and  Eth.  his  habitation  was  consumed. 

3  Sah.  omits  in  the  gate.  *  Gr.  and  Sah.  And  they  shall  not  be  delivered  from  the 

wicked.  Aq.  He  shall  be  taken  at  the  hands  of  armed  men.  Sym.  They  shall  be  taken  at 
the  hands  of  armed  men.  Eth.  The  wicked  shall  not  make  war  upon  them.  Syr.  Ar.  And 
they  shall  be  poured  out  for  thirst.     Vulg.  Tlie  armed  man  shall  seize  him. 

made.  It  would  but  increase  Job's  vexation  without  obtaining 
for  him  any  relief,  and  so  but  aggravate  his  calamity  and  hasten 
his  death.  Jealousy.  It  is  better  to  read  with  the  margin, 
"indignation."  The  hot  restlessness  of  one  in  such  a  temper 
helps  to  burn  out  his  life. 

3.  I  cursed  his  habitation.  This  makes  no  good  sense.  Why 
should  Eliphaz  curse  his  habitation?  He  might  recognize  that  it 
was  cursed,  but  the  context  demands  the  statement  of  some  strong 
antithesis  in  the  fortune  of  the  wicked  himself.  This  antithesis 
is  secured  if  with  the  five  versions  noted  above  we  read,  "sud- 
denly his  dwelling  was  consumed."  It  means  in  Hebrew  the 
change  of  but  two  letters. 

4.  In  the  gate.  The  courts  of  justice,  consisting  of  the  elders 
of  the  city,  sat  in  the  gate  (see  Ruth  4  :  iff.).  When  the  powerful 
protector  of  a  family,  the  father,  was  gone,  the  children  were  over- 
powered or  crushed  before  the  tribunals.  The  strongest  arm  and 
longest  purse  obtained  the  verdict. 

5.  Whose  harvest  the  hungry  eateth  up.  They  cannot  pro- 
tect the  income  of  their  fields.  It  is  the  prey  of  rapacious  thief  or 
hungry  animal.  And  taketh  it  even  out  of  the  thorns.  This 
rendering  of  the  Hebrew  is  impossible  —  indeed  the  Hebrew  is 
itself  impossible.  That  it  was  already  corrupt  in  ancient  times 
is  shown  by  the  renderings  of  the  versions  given  above.  The 
line  probably  arose  originally  from  an  accidental  repetition  of  a 
Hebrew  word,  other  words  being  added  afterward  to  make  sense 
of  it.     If  it  is  dropped  and  we  read  simply : 

"  Whose  harvest  the  hungry  eateth  up, 
And  the  thirsty  swallow  up  their  substance," 

84 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


And  ^  the  snare  gapeth  for  their  substance. 

6.  For  ^  affiction  cometh  not  forth  of  the  dust, 
Neither  doth  trouble  spring  out  of  the  ground; 

7.  But  man  is  born  unto  trouble, 
As  ^  the  sparks  fly  upward. 

8.  But  as  for  me,  I  would  seek  unto  God, 
And  unto  God  would  I  commit  my  cause : 

1  According  to  many  ancient  versions,  the  thirsty  swallow  up.        ^  m.  Or  iniquity. 
See  4:8.  3  m.  Heb.  the  sons  of  flame  or  of  lightning.      Gr.  Sah.  the  nestlings  of 

the  vulture.     Aq.  Sym.  Syr.  Ar.  Eth.  the  young  of  birds.    Targ.  sons  of  demons. 

we  have  a  much  clearer  thought  and  a  stronger  verse.  The 
snare  gapeth  for  their  substance.  The  marginal  reading,  which 
is  supported  by  Aq.  Sym.  Syr.  Vulg.,  should  be  adopted. 

6.  Affliction  cometh  not  forth  of  the  dust.  Eliphaz  means 
that  a£9ictions  are  not  accidental.  They  have  a  cause.  Eliphaz 
is  reasoning  here  from  effect  back  to  cause.  Since  Job  is  afflicted, 
he  should  recognize  that  there  is  a  cause  for  his  suffering. 

7.  Man  is  bom  unto  trouble.  The  expression  is  vague,  but  seems 
to  imply  that  he  is  born  to  trouble  because  he  is  born  to  sin, 
and  that  sin  brings  trouble  upon  him.  Some  scholars  would 
make  this  thought  more  obvious  by  rendering  (through  a  change 
of  the  Hebrew  pointing)  "man  begets  trouble."  The  versions, 
however,  support  the  present  text.  The  sparks.  The  versions, 
as  shown  above,  understood  this  in  quite  different  ways,  but 
whether  we  render  "sparks  "  or  "lightning  "  or  "young  vultures  " 
or  "young  birds,"  it  is  clear  that  the  figure  referred  to  something 
that  was  impelled  to  rise  by  the  laws  of  its  own  nature.  Although 
scholars  have  found  many  difficulties  in  the  interpretation  of 
this  and  the  preceding  verse,  it  seems  probable  that  Eliphaz 
intends  to  imply  that  it  is  man's  nature  to  sin,  and,  since  sin 
brings  trouble,  he  is  necessarily  always  in  trouble. 

(4)  Job  should  seek  God,  whose  chastisements  lead  to  richer  blessing, 
5  :  8-27 

8.  But  as  for  me.  The  Hebrew  expresses  here  a  strong  con- 
trast ;  it  is  the  contrast  between  what  Job  is  doing,  and  what  Eli- 
phaz thinks  he  would  do  under  similar  circumstances.  I  would 
seek  unto  God :  in  humility,  for  light  to  understand  my  error 
and  for  help  to  correct  it.  Eliphaz  did  not  understand  what  Job 
at  a  later  point  makes  clear,  that  Job  felt  his  way  to  God  cut  off. 

85 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


9.  Which  doeth  great  things  and  unsearchable ; 

^  Marvellous  things  without  number : 

10.  Who  giveth  rain  upon  the  earth, 
And  sendeth  waters  upon  the  fields : 

11.  ^  So  that  he  setteth  up  on  high  those  that  be  low ; 
And  those  which  mourn  are  exalted  to  safety. 

12.  He  frustrateth  the  devices  of  the  crafty, 

So  that  their  "hands  ^  cannot  perform  their  enter- 
prise. 

13.  He  taketh  the  wise  in  their  own  craftiness : 

» 16  Heb.  MSS.  Gr.  Syr.  Vulg.  Sah.  Ar.  Eth.  Even  marvellous  things.    2  Gr.  Vulg. 
Sah.  Eth.  Who  setteth  up.  ^  m.  Or,  can  perform  nothing  of  worth.     Gr.  Sah.  Eth. 

rendered  anything  true.  Syr.  msdom.  Vulg.  what  they  undertake.    Targ.  the  counsel 
of  their  msdom.    Ar.  purpose. 


9.  Which  doeth  great  things  and  unsearchable.  This  is 
urged  as  the  reason  for  the  exhortation  implied  in  v.  8.  God's 
abiUty  to  accomplish  that  which  the  understanding  of  man  can- 
not fathom  affords  ground  for  hope  that  he  may  solve  the  perplex- 
ities of  Job's  tangled  problem,  if  Job  but  commits  his  case  to  God. 

10.  Who  giveth  rain  upon  the  earth.  This  is  cited  as  a  token 
of  his  power  and  his  universal  goodness.  In  the  thirsty  East  rain 
is  one  of  the  greatest  blessings.  Eliphaz  implies  that  he  who 
refreshes  the  thirsty  earth  may  soothe  and  heal  the  suffering  Job. 

11.  So  that  he  setteth  up.  It  is  better  with  the  versions  cited 
above  to  read  "who  setteth  up."  The  verse  does  not  express  a 
consequence  of  the  giving  of  the  rain,  but  an  entirely  separate 
instance  of  God's  supreme  power.  It  is  an  instance,  too,  espe- 
cially appropriate  to  the  case  in  hand,  for  he  that  "raiseth  up  the 
low  "  may  raise  up  Job. 

12.  He  frustrateth  the  devices  of  the  crafty.  This  is  a  favorite 
thought  with  the  sages  of  the  Old  Testament.  Cannot  perform 
their  enterprise.  The  word  rendered  enterprise  is  in  the  Hebrew 
an  unusual  and  difficult  one.  It  occurs  mainly  in  the  wisdom 
books.  The  various  renderings  of  the  versions  cited  above  show 
that  it  was  not  well  understood  by  the  ancient  translators.  It 
apparently  means  "abiding  success,"  and  the  clause  should  be 
translated:    "do  not  achieve  abiding  success." 

13.  He  taketh  the  wise  in  their  own  craftiness,  continues 
and  expands  the  thought  of  the  preceding  verse.  The  quotation 
of  this  in  i  Cor.  3  :  19  is  the  only  direct  quotation  from  Job  in  the 

86 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


And  the  counsel  of  the  froward  is  carried  head- 
long. 

14.  They  meet  with  darkness  in  the  day-time, 
And  grope  at  noonday  as  in  the  night. 

15.  But  he  saveth  from  the  sword  ^  of  their  mouth, 
Even  the  needy  from  the  hand  of  the  mighty. 

16.  So  the  poor  hath  hope, 

And  iniquity  stoppeth  her  mouth. 

17.  2  Behold,  happy  is  the  man  whom  God  ^  cor- 

recteth : 

1  m.  Heb.  out  of  their  mouth.  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  render  the  verse  But  they  perish  in 
war,  and  are  unable  to  escape  from  the  hand  of  the  conqueror.  '  5  Heb.  MSS.  Gr. 

Syr.  Vulg.  Sah.  Ar.  Eth.  omit  Behold.  ^  m.  Or,  reproveth. 

New  Testament,  though  Job  3:21a  is  quoted  almost  verbatim 
in  Rev.  9:6;    and  Job  41  :  11  in  Rom.  11  :  35. 

14.  And  grope  at  noonday  as  in  the  night.  A  vivid  picture  of 
the  perplexity  of  one  who,  baffled  in  the  labyrinth  of  life,  seeks  for 
a  ray  of  hope.  Compare  Deut.  28  :  29,  and  for  physical  parallels, 
Gen.  19  :  II  ;   2  Kgs.  6  :  18-20 ;  and  Acts  13  :  11. 

15.  From  the  sword  of  their  mouth.  This  line  makes  no  sense, 
and  is  very  unusual  Hebrew.  Three  of  the  ancient  versions,  as 
noted  above,  had  a  very  different  text,  though  their  reading  is  no 
more  intelligible  than  the  present  Hebrew.  As  modern  inter- 
preters have  noted,  some  word  like  "poor  "  must  have  stood  in 
place  of  "their  mouth."     If  we  restore  this,  the  verse  would  read : 

"But  he  saves  from  the  sword  the  poor, 
And  the  needy  from  the  hand  of  the  mighty." 

This  gives  a  clear  thought,  makes  the  verse  a  natural  contrast  to 
the  preceding  one,  and  prepares  the  way  for  the  one  that  follows. 

16.  So  the  poor  hath  hope.  It  is  such  interference  on  their 
behalf,  Eliphaz  believed,  that  gives  the  poor  their  hope  in  God. 
Iniquity  stoppeth  her  mouth.  Compare  Ps.  107  :  42.  When  they 
see  their  designs  frustrated,  and  those  whom  they  have  sought  to 
destroy  rising  in  prosperity,  the  wicked  are  dumb  with  astonish- 
ment. This,  at  least,  was  the  view  of  Eliphaz.  In  real  life  the 
wicked  under  such  circumstances  still  have  power  to  curse. 
The  verse  gives  us  Eliphaz's  view  of  the  end  contemplated  by  the 
sweep  of  God's  providences. 

17.  Happy  is  the  man  whom  God  correcteth.  Compare 
Pr.  3:  II  and  12  (quoted  in  Heb.   12:  5  and  6),  also  Ps.  94:  12. 

^1 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


Therefore  despise  not  thou  the  chastening  of  the 
Almighty. 
i8.  For  he  maketh  sore,  and  bindeth  up ; 

He  woundeth,  and  his  hands  make  whole, 

19.  He  shall  deliver  thee  ^  in  six  troubles ; 

Yea,  in  seven  there  shall  no  evil  touch  thee. 

20.  In  famine  he  shall  redeem  thee  from  death; 
And  in  war  from  the  power  of  the  sword. 

21.  Thou  shalt  be  hid  from  the  scourge  of  the  tongue ; 

1  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  from  six  troubles. 

The  imagination  of  Eliphaz  kindles  as  he  thinks  of  God's  goodness 
to  the  penitent  sinner,  and  he  portrays  afflictions  as  though  they 
were  choice  blessings.  Underlying  all,  however,  is  the  assumption 
that  Job  has  sinned,  and  that  his  present  affliction  is  a  punish- 
ment for  sin.  As  Job  is  conscious  that  he  has  committed  nothing 
to  warrant  the  infliction  of  such  sufferings,  the  words  of  Eliphaz 
irritate  him,  rather  than  lead  him  to  repentance. 

18.  He  maketh  sore,  and  bindeth  up.  Rather  "he  maketh 
sore  that  he  may  bind  up."  Like  the  skilful  surgeon,  God  uses 
the  knife  in  order  that  the  healing  may  be  the  more  complete. 
For  similar  thoughts  see  Deut.  32  :  39  and  Hos.  6:1. 

19.  In  six  troubles  ...  in  seven.  This  is  a  vivid  way  of 
expressing  the  idea  of  "many."  Compare  Isa.  17:6;  Micah 
5:5;  and  Eccl.  11:2.  Similarly  "some  "  was  expressed  by  the 
numbers  "three  and  four  "  or  "four  and  five  "  in  Amos  i  :  3, 
6,  9,  II,  13 ;  2  :  I,  4,  6 ;  Pr.  30 :  15,  18,  21 ;  Ex.  20 :  5  ;  34 :  7  and 
"few"  by  "two  and  three"  in  Job  33  :  14,  29;  Ps.  62  :  11 ;  and  Isa. 
17:  6. 

20.  Death  .  .  .  sword.  These  are  explanatory  examples 
illustrating  the  "troubles"  referred  to  in  the  preceding  verse 
21.  Of  the  tongue.  Slander,  or  the  scourge  of  the  envious  tongue, 
is  an  evil  of  which  many  Psalmists  complain  (see  Ps.  5  :  9 ;  15:3; 
52:2;  57:4;  64:3;  etc.).  Protection  from  slander  seems, 
however,  inappropriate  here,  since  all  the  other  dangers  enu- 
merated are  objective,  such  as  famine,  war,  and  wild  beasts. 
Although  all  the  ancient  versions  support  the  reading  "tongue," 
those  scholars  may  be  right  who  think  we  should  substitute  here 
a  word  meaning  "pestilence."  If  we  do  this,  the  four  dangers 
mentioned  are  the  same  as  those  enumerated  in  Eze.  5:17  and 
14: 21  ff. 

88 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB^ 


Neither  shalt  thou  be  afraid  of  destruction  when 
it  Cometh. 

22.  At  destruction  and  dearth  thou  shalt  laugh; 
Neither  shalt  thou  be  afraid  of  the  beasts  of  the 

earth. 

23.  ^  For  thou  shalt  be  in  league  with  the  stones  of 

the  field ; 
And  the  beasts  of  the  field  shall  be  at  peace  with 
thee. 

24.  And  thou  shalt  know  that  thy  tent  is  in  peace ; 
And   thou  shalt  visit  thy  ^  fold,  and  ^  shalt  miss 

nothing. 

25.  Thou  shalt   know  also  that   thy  seed   shall   be 

great, 

1  Gr.  Sym.  Sah.  Eth.  omit  For  thou  shall  he  in  league  with  the  stones  of  the  field. 

2  m.  Or,  habitation.  '  m.  Or,  shalt  not  err. 

2  2.  Neither  shalt  thou  be  afraid.  The  rendering  is  not  quite 
accurate,  and  misses  a  delicate  shade  of  meaning.  The  negative 
is  not  the  same  that  was  used  in  v.  21.  It  conveys  the  thought, 
"thou  needest  not  fear." 

23.  The  stones  of  the  field.  Which  might  easily  render  the 
land  unfruitful,  if  they  were  too  numerous;  see  Isa.  5:  2.  The 
beasts  of  the  field  shall  be  at  peace.  One  element  of  the  highest 
conceptions  of  the  kingdom  of  God  in  both  the  Old  Testament 
and  the  New  consists  of  the  ideal  of  a  profound  sympathy  and 
harmony  between  man  and  nature.  See  Isa.  11 : 6-9  and  Rom. 
8 :  19  and  22. 

24.  Thy  tent.  This  is  the  literal  meaning  of  the  word  and  is 
better  than  the  marginal  rendering,  "habitation."  Shall  miss 
nothing.  This  is  to  be  preferred  to  the  marginal  reading,  "  shalt 
not  err."  According  to  the  theology  of  Eliphaz  and  his  friends 
righteousness  is  rewarded  by  outward  prosperity.  This  verse 
expresses  the  security  that  Eliphaz  believed  the  really  good  man 
would  experience. 

25.  Thy  seed  shall  be  great.  A  numerous  posterity  was 
throughout  the  Old  Testament  considered  one  of  the  choicest 
blessings,  see  Gen.  15:5;  Num.  23  :  10 ;  Ps.  25  :  13  ;  37  :  26 ;  89 : 
29,   36;     102:24;    Isa.   38:  10;     53:10.       Eliphaz   accordingly 

89 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


And  thine  offspring  as  the  grass  of  the  ^  earth. 

26.  Thou  shalt  come  to  thy  grave  in  a  full  age, 
Like  as  a  shock  of  corn  cometh  in  its  season. 

27.  Lo  this,  we  have  searched  it,  so  it  is ; 

2  Hear  it,  and  know  thou  it  ^  for  thy  good. 

2.   JoVs  First  Reply  to  Eliphaz,  Chs.  6,  7 
6.  Then  Job  answered  and  said, 

2.  Oh  that  my  vexation  were  but  weighed. 

And  my  calamity  laid  in  the  balances  together ! 

3.  For  now  it  would  be  heavier  than  the  sand  of  the 

seas: 

» Gr.  Sah.  Tzxg. field.    « Gr.  Syr.  Sah.  Ar.  Eth.  We  have  heard  it.    a  m.  Heb. /or  thyself. 

enumerates  this  among  the  blessings  that  will  come  to  Job,  quite 
iorgetful  for  the  moment  that  Job's  children  have  all  perished. 
it  is  possible,  however,  that  he  meant  to  suggest  that  if  Job  were 
reconciled  to  God  he  might  hope  for  another  family.  This  would 
accord  well  with  the  point  of  view  of  the  Arab  of  to-day. 

26.  In  a  full  age.  We  should  rather  render  "in  firm  strength." 
Long  life  is  presupposed  (see  Ps.  91  :  16)  and  is  expressed  in  the 
next  clause;  Eliphaz  declares  that  vigor  to  enjoy  it  all  is  given 
to  the  righteous.  A  shock  of  com  ...  in  its  season.  This 
expresses  the  promise  of  long  life. 

27.  Hear  it.  The  Hebrew  word  is  very  peculiar.  We  should 
adopt  the  reading  of  the  versions  cited  above,  "we  have  heard 
it."  Know  thou  it.  Eliphaz  exhorts  Job  to  put  it  to  the  test 
of  experience.  For  thy  good.  The  marginal  reading,  "for  thy- 
self," is  to  be  followed  here. 

(i)   Joh  justifies  the  violence  of  his  complaint,  6  :  1-13. 

2.  Oh  that  my  vexation  were  but  weighed.  Job  had  been 
deeply  hurt  by  the  words  of  Eliphaz,  who  had  entirely  failed  to 
understand  or  to  enter  into  sympathy  with  him.  Eliphaz  had 
expressed  surprise  at  Job's  impatience  (4:  3-5),  and  had  implied 
that  such  vexation  consumed  foolish  people  (5:2).  This  Job 
resents,  and  declares  that  if  his  vexation  were  put  in  the  balance 
with  his  calamity,  it  would  be  found  that  he  was  not  more  impa- 
tient than  the  misfortune  warranted. 

3.  Sand  of  the  seas.  Sand  is  in  the  Old  Testament  a  favorite 
figure  for  that  which  is  infinite  in  weight  or  number  or  measure ; 

90 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


Therefore  have  my  words  been  rash. 

4.  For  the  arrows  of  the  Almighty  are  within  me, 
The  poison  whereof  my  spirit  drinketh  up : 

^  The  terrors  of  God  do  set  themselves  in  array 
against  me. 

5.  Doth  the  wild  ass  bray  when  he  hath  grass  ? 
Or  loweth  the  ox  over  his  fodder  ? 

6.  Can  that  which  hath  no  savour  be  eaten  with- 

out salt  ? 

1  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  When  God  rouses  me,  they  hurt  me. 


see  Pr.  27:3;  Gen.  32:  12;  Jer.  33:22.  Have  my  words  been 
rash.  Job  does  not  mean  that  the  content  of  his  utterance  was 
not  justified,  but  that  the  form  was  wild  and  delirious.  This  is 
clear  from  his  reference  to  the  cause  —  the  poison  of  the  arrows 
of  Jehovah  —  in  the  next  verse. 

4.  For  the  arrows  of  the  Almighty  are  within  me.  Job  re- 
garded this  as  the  explanation  of  his  bearing.  It  was  not  the 
calamities  themselves  that  unmanned  him,  but  his  doubt  of  God. 
Job  was  conscious  of  no  sin,  hence  his  misfortunes  seemed  to  prove 
that  God  had  without  reason  turned  against  him.  An  irre- 
sponsible tyrant  ruled  the  universe  and  was  amusing  himself  by 
torturing  Job.  For  the  arrow  as  a  figure  of  the  shafts  of  affliction, 
see  Job  16  :  12  and  13  ;  Deut.  32  :  23  ;  and  Ps.  38  :  2  and  3.  The 
poison  whereof.  God's  arrows  were  poisoned  arrows.  This 
is  a  strong  figure  of  the  effect  which  the  agony  created  by  Job's 
doubt  of  God  produced.  The  terrors  of  God  do  set  themselves 
in  array  against  me.  This  is  not  a  good  ending  to  Job's  meta- 
phor. We  should  adopt  the  reading  of  the  three  versions  noted 
above:  "When  God  rouses  me  they  hurt  me."  It  means  in 
Hebrew  but  the  transposition  of  two  letters,  and  restores  the  lost 
sense.  The  Almighty's  arrows  are  sticking  in  Job,  their  poison 
fevers  his  brain,  he  cannot  move  without  being  hurt  by  them. 
No  wonder  his  complaint  was  vehement  and  wild ! 

5.  Doth  the  wild  ass  bray  .  .  .  loweth  the  ox.  Since  animals 
do  not  cry  out  when  their  wants  are  satisfied,  but  only  when  in 
distress,  Job's  friends  should  know  that  his  cry  has  an  adequate 
cause. 

h.  6.  Can  that  which  hath  no  savour.  The  point  of  this  remark 
comes  out  in  the  next  verse.     The  white  of  an  egg.     The  Hebrew 

91 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


Or  is  there  any  taste  in  ^  the  white  of  an  egg  ? 

2  My  soul  refuseth  ^  to  touch  them; 

^  They  are  as  loathsome  meat  to  me. 

Oh  that  I  might  have  ^  my  request ; 

And  that  God  would  grant  me  the  thing  that  I 

long  for ! 
Even  that  it  would  please  God  to  crush  me ; 


^  m.  Or,  the  juice  of  purslain.  Syr.  the  juice  of  anchusa.  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  in  vain  words. 
Vulg.  that  which  tasted  brings  death.  Ar.  spittle  of  the  foolish.  Targ.  white  of  an  egg. 
2  m.  Or,  What  things  my  soul  refused  to  touch,  these  are  as  my  loathsome  meat.  ^  Gr. 
Sah.  Eth.  to  rest.  *  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  /  see  the  stink  of  my  food  as  the  smell  of  a  lion. 

Syr.  At.  Or  cries  out  like  drunken  men  to  fight  me.  Vulg.  Now  before  my  distress  is  my 
food.  Targ.  They  make  me  sick  and  are  enough  for  my  dinner.  *  3  MSS.  Vulg. 
Targ.  this. 

words  here  are  obscure,  and  the  readings  of  the  ancient  versions 
cited  above  show  that  in  ancient  times  they  were  not  understood. 
The  Targum  only  supports  the  reading  of  the  text  of  RV.  It  is 
not  an  insuperable  objection  to  this  rendering  that  the  domestic 
hen  is  not  mentioned  in  Palestinian  writings  until  the  New  Testa- 
ment period,  having  been  first  domesticated  in  eastern  Asia  and 
introduced  into  the  West  through  Persia,  for  Deut.  22:6  and 
Isa.  10 :  14  show  that  the  eggs  of  wild  birds  might  be  gathered. 
The  eggs  of  the  ostrich  are  mentioned  in  Job  39  :  14,  and  the  Arabs 
to-day  make  an  omelette  of  these  which  is  highly  prized.  It  is, 
however,  more  probable  that  the  reading  of  the  margin  should 
be  adopted.  The  reference  would  then  be  to  the  tastelessness  of 
the  juice  of  some  plant.  This  affords  a  better  meaning  than  to 
follow  the  Greek,  Sahidic,  and  Ethiopic  versions,  as  some  scholars 
do,  and  render  "vain  words."  The  taste  of  vain  words  is  a  mixed 
metaphor  of  which  it  is  unfair  to  suppose  this  great  poet  guilty. 

7.  My  soul  refuseth  to  touch  them.  "Them  "  refers  to  Job's 
afflictions.  They  are  as  unattractive  to  his  spirit  as  the  tasteless 
things  of  V.  6  to  the  palate.  They  are  as  loathsome  meat  to  me. 
This  represents  a  very  unusual,  if  not  an  impossible,  Hebrew. 
That  the  text  is  probably  corrupt  the  renderings  of  the  ancient 
versions  quoted  above  show.  It  is  now  perhaps  impossible  to 
restore  it.  On  the  whole  the  suggestion  of  Ley  to  change  two 
letters  of  the  Hebrew  and  read,  "They  make  me  loathe  my  food," 
is  the  simplest  and  best. 

8.  My  request.  This  refers  to  Job's  longing  for  death  ex- 
pressed in  3  :  20-24.  His  reference  to  his  sufferings  brings  to 
remembrance  this  desire,  and  leads  to  renewed  expression  of  it. 

92 


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That  he  would  let  loose  his  hand,  and  cut  me  off  ! 

10.  Then  should  I  yet  have  comfort ; 

^  Yea,  I  would  ^  exult  in  pain  ^  that  spareth  not : 
*  For  I  have  not  ^  denied  the  words  of  the  Holy 
One. 

11.  What  is  my  strength,  that  I  should  wait? 

And  what  is  mine  end,  that  I  should  be  patient  ? 

12.  Is  my  strength  the  strength  of  stones? 
Or  is  my  flesh  of  brass  ? 

13.  ®  Is  it  not  that  I  have  no  help  in  me, 

1  m.  Or,  Though  I  shrink  back.  2  m.  Qr,  Jiarden  myself.  ^  m.  Or,  though  he 

spare  not.        <  m.  Or,  That.        »  m.  Qr,  concealed.        ^  Syr.  Vulg.  Ar.  Behold  there  is 
no  help  in  me. 

9.  Let  loose  his  hand.  Job  felt  that  God  had  hitherto  smitten 
him  with  a  fettered  hand.  If  he  would  but  give  his  hand  free 
play  and  entirely  crush  Job  or  cut  him  off,  then  Job's  misery 
would  be  over.  Job  has  here  forgotten  his  defence  in  sheer 
wretchedness,  and  has  broken  out  in  this  passionate  cry. 

10.  Then  should  I  yet  have  comfort.  Job's  comfort  would  be 
in  death,  the  calmness  and  peace  of  which  he  had  so  vividly 
described  (3:  20-24).  Yea,  I  would  exult  in  pain  that  spareth 
not.  The  text  is  in  each  case  to  be  preferred  to  the  marginal 
renderings.  The  short  period  of  pain  which  preceded  death  he 
would  gladly  endure  for  the  calmness  which  would  follow.  For 
I  have  not  denied  the  words  of  the  Holy  One.  Again  the  text  is 
to  be  preferred  to  the  marginal  readings.  The  sentence^  seems 
so  meaningless  on  Job's  lips  that  many  scholars  regard  it  as  a 
later  interpolation.  Job  did  not  look  forward  to  a  future  life, 
but  to  the  inanimate  Sheol  (3  :  20-24).  All  the  versions  read  the 
text  here,  however,  and  it  seems  difficult  to  throw  it  out.  It 
seems  to  be  a  parenthetical  assertion  on  Job's  part  of  his  inno- 
cence —  a  sort  of  suddenly  interjected  reply  to  the  insinuations 
of  Eliphaz  concerning  his  guilt. 

11.  Be  patient.  In  this  verse  Job  returns  to  the  insinuation  of 
Eliphaz  that  the  calamities  should  have  been  borne  in  a  different 
spirit,  and  strongly  asserts  that  that  was  too  much  to  expect. 

12.  Stones  .  .  .  brass.  It  would  take  hard,  unfeeling  metal 
to  bear  the  strain,  and  Job  was  quivering,  sensitive  flesh. 

13.  Is  it  not  that.  We  should  read  with  three  versions  cited 
above,  "Behold  there  is  no  help  in  me."     Effectual  working. 

93 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


And  that  ^  effectual  working  is  driven  quite  from 
me? 

14.  To  him  that  is  ready  to  faint  kindness  should  be 

shewed  from  his  friend ; 
2  Even  to  him  that  forsaketh  the  fear  of  the 
Almighty. 

15.  My  brethren  have  dealt  deceitfully  as  a  brook, 
As  the  channel  of  brooks  that  pass  away ; 

16.  Which  are  black  by  reason  of  the  ice, 

1  m.  Or,  sound  wisdom.  ^  m.  Or,  Else  might  he  forsake.  Or,  But  he  forsaketh. 

Better  than  either  the  text  or  the  margin  is  the  rendering  "abid- 
ing success."  In  contrast  to  the  strength  of  stones  and  brass 
Job  declares  that  he  is  destitute  of  ordinary  human  strength, 
and  is  able  to  achieve  abiding  success  in  nothing  —  not  even 
in  being  patient. 

(2)  J  oh  expresses  disappointment  at  the  attitude  of  his  friend,  6  :  14-30. 

14.  To  him  that  is  ready  to  faint.  The  Hebrew  word  here  is 
peculiar,  occurring  nowhere  else.  The  ancient  versions  (Gr. 
Syr.  Vulg.  Targ.  Ar.  Sah.  Eth.)  had  readings  which  suggest  a 
stem  meaning  "  deny."     Perhaps  we  should  read  : 

"  To  one  who  is  denied  kindness  from  his  friend, 
Even  he  forsakes  the  fear  of  the  Almighty." 

The  thought  of  the  verse  would  then  be,  when  taken  in  connection 
with  the  last  clause  of  v.  10,  that,  although  Job  had  not  become 
godless,  the  attitude  of  Eliphaz  might  drive  him  to  it. 

15.  Dealt  deceitfully.  This  is  a  strong  way  of  expressing  Job's 
disappointment  in  his  friends.  When  they  came,  he  had  hoped  for 
real  understanding  and  sympathy,  but  the  speech  of  Eliphaz  had 
shown  that  this  hope  was  not  to  be  fulfilled.  "Deceitfully  "  is  a 
reference  to  the  false  nature  of  this  fair  promise.  As  a  brook, 
as  the  channel  of  brooks  that  pass  away.  There  are  in  Palestine 
but  few  perennial  streams.  On  the  other  hand,  numerous  valleys 
are  in  the  rainy  season  turned  into  temporary  brooks.  When  the 
rain  ceases  they  speedily  run  dry.  They  may  hold  out  a  promise  of 
refreshment  to  the  traveller,  but  are  almost  sure  to  disappoint  it. 
The  following  verses  develop  the  figure  with  vivid  details. 

16.  Black  by  reason  of  the  ice.  A  reference  to  the  turbid 
waters  of  the  streams  when  the  ice  melts  to  augment  the  current. 

94 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


A  fid  wherein  the  snow  hideth  itself: 

17.  What  time  ^  they  ^  wax  warm,  they  vanish : 
When  it  is  hot,  they  are  consumed  out  of  their 

place. 

18.  ^  The  caravans  that  travel  by  the  way  of  them 

turn  aside ; 
They  go  up  into  the  waste,  and  perish. 

19.  The  caravans  of  Tema  looked, 

The  companies  of  Sheba  waited  for  them. 

20.  They  were  ashamed  because  they  had  hoped ; 
They  came  thither,  and  were  confounded. 

1  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  it  is  warm.        2  m.  Or,  shrink.        '  m.  Or,  The  paths  of  their  way  are 
turned  aside. 

The  snow  hideth  itself.     By  melting.     This  increases  the  volume 
of  water. 

17.  They  wax  warm.  The  text  is  preferable  to  the  marginal 
reading,  but  we  should  read  with  the  versions  cited  above,  "it 
is  warm."  They  are  consumed  out  of  their  place.  Nothing  is 
more  desolate  than  the  dry  valley  of  such  a  brook  in  the  summer- 
time; see  Barton,  Wandering  in  Bible  Lands,  opp.  p.  133. 

18.  The  caravans.  The  text  is  better  than  the  marginal 
reading.  The  picture  is  that  of  a  caravan  that  has  come  from  a 
long  way  and  planned  to  camp  by  such  a  stream.  It  finds  no 
water  and  is  compelled  to  turn  aside  on  the  chance  of  finding  a 
pool  near  by ;  it  cannot  reach  the  next  stream.  To  experience 
the  force  of  the  figure  one  should  have  experienced  such  a  dis- 
appointment in  the  thirsty  East.  For  an  account  of  such  an 
episode,  see  Barton,  Wandering  in  Bible  Lands,  pp.  215  flf.  Into 
the  waste,  and  perish.  They  perish  while  seeking  water  in  the 
desert. 

19.  Tema  .  .  .  Sheba.  The  former  was  in  Edom  on  the  con- 
fines of  northern  Arabia  (see  Isa.  21:  14;  Jer.  25:  23).  Sheba 
was  the  famous  city  Saba  in  South  Arabia  (see  note  on  i :  15).  The 
lives  of  the  caravans  of  towns  from  far  and  near  are  imperiled 
by  the  unexpected  failure  of  the  lonely,  insignificant  brook.  It 
is  a  powerful  figure  of  the  deadly  harm  that  results  from  the 
failure  of  even  an  insignificant  character  to  live  up  to  that  which 
may  be  justly  expected  of  it. 

20.  Ashamed.  As  often  in  the  Old  Testament,  means  "dis- 
appointed." 

95 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


21.  ^  For  now  ye  ^  are  ^  nothing ; 
Ye  see  a  terror,  and  are  afraid. 

22.  Did  I  say,  Give  unto  me  ? 

Or,  Offer  a  present  for  me  of  your  substance  ? 

23.  Or,  Deliver  me  from  the  adversary's  hand  ? 

Or,  Redeem  me  from  the  hand  of  the  oppressors  ? 

24.  Teach  me,  and  I  will  hold  my  peace : 

And  cause  me  to  understand  wherein  I  have 
erred. 

25.  How  ^  forcible  are  words  of  uprightness  ! 
But  what  doth  your  arguing  reprove  ? 

1  Syr.  At.  Eth.  Thus.  *  m.  Another  reading  is  are  like  thereto.  '  Syr.  Ar.  to 

me.        *  I  Heb.  MS.  and  Targ.  sweet. 

21.  For  now  ye  are  nothing.  The  Hebrew  is  very  unusual, 
and  the  versions  show  that  it  early  became  corrupt.  We  should 
probably  read  with  the  versions  cited  above:  "Thus  are  ye  to 
me,"  i.e.  ye  are  like  the  disappointing  streams  previously  de- 
scribed. Ye  see  a  terror,  and  are  afraid.  Their  imaginary  con- 
ception of  Job's  sinfulness  dries  up  their  sympathy  and  makes 
them  like  the  disappointing  brook. 

22.  A  present  ...  of  your  substance.  Had  Job  asked  mate- 
rial aid  —  a  gift  of  money  or  goods  —  he  would  not  have  been 
surprised,  he  says,  at  their  lack  of  sympathy.  Even  friendship 
could  not  be  expected  to  undergo  such  a  strain  as  that ! 

23.  Adversary's  hand.  That  is,  the  hand  of  a  bandit.  Such 
deliverance  would  require  a  ransom,  as  the  next  line  shows. 
Modern  instances  like  the  case  of  Miss  Stone,  the  American 
missionary  in  Macedonia,  and  Ian  Perdicarris,  who  was  captured 
by  Rais  Uli  in  Morocco,  illustrate  the  thought.  The  verse  ex- 
presses in  another  form  the  thought  of  v.  22. 

24.  Teach  me.  Job  claimed  that  he  was  ready  to  be  taught 
his  real  faults,  but  he  could  not  see  that  the  words  of  Eliphaz 
touched  upon  any  reality. 

25.  How  forcible  are  words  of  uprightness!  The  Hebrew 
word  rendered  "forcible"  does  not  have  that  meaning.  We 
should  read  with  one  Heb.  MS.  and  the  Targum,  *'  How  sweet ! " 
Job  feels  that  words  that  were  really  just  to  him  would  be  sweet. 
But  what  doth  your  arguing  reprove?  The  Hebrew  is,  "What 
doth  reproving  from  you  reprove !  "     Job  is  very  scornful,  for 

96 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


26.  Do  ye  imagine  to  reprove  words  ? 

Seeing  that  the  speeches  of  one  that  is  desperate 
are  ^  as  wind. 

27.  Yea,  ye  would  cast  lots  upon  the  fatherless, 
And  make  merchandise  of  your  friend. 

28.  Now  therefore  be  pleased  to  look  upon  me ; 
2  For  surely  I  shall  not  lie  to  your  face. 

29.  Return,  I  pray  you,  let  there  be  no  injustice ; 
Yea,  return  again,  ^  my  cause  is  righteous. 

1  m.  Or,  for  the  wind.        *  m.  Or,  And  it  will  be  evident  unto  you  if  I  lie.        *  m.  Heb. 
my  righteousness  is  in  it.    Perhaps  we  should  read  let  justice  come. 

to  his  supersensitive  mind  the  words  of  Eliphaz  have  been  most 
unjust. 

26.  To  reprove  words.  One  in  the  impatience  of  illness  says 
many  things  that  he  does  not  half  mean.  Job  in  this  verse  admits 
that  he  has  done  so,  and  expresses  wonder  that  his  friends  knew 
so  little  of  human  nature  that  they  should  seriously  undertake 
to  answer  the  wild  utterances  of  a  despairing  man. 

27.  Ye  would  cast  lots  upon  the  fatherless.  They  have  been 
so  unfeeling  that  Job  declares  that  they  would  even  cast  lots  upon 
the  fatherless.  Pity  toward  orphans  and  care  for  them  is  incul- 
cated throughout  the  Old  Testament  and  the  Coran  (see  e.g. 
Deut.  24:17  and  19;  Ps.  68:5;  Pr.  23:10;  Isa.  1:23; 
etc.).  Those  who  were  unfeeling  toward  such  were  severely 
denounced.  Such  a  charge  against  the  friends  of  Job  is,  of  course, 
unjust,  and  many  scholars  have  thought  it  a  difficulty  that  it 
comes  in  here  so  abruptly  and  inappropriately.  It  is,  however, 
just  the  sort  of  extravagant  charge  that  an  exasperated  invalid 
whose  nerves  were  all  on  edge  might  make,  and  the  poet  has  dis- 
played his  insight  and  skill  in  putting  it  upon  Job's  lips.  Mer- 
chandise of  your  friend.  Like  the  preceding  charge,  it  is  extrav- 
agantly unjust,  but  Job  is  led  to  these  wild  utterances  by  his 
keen  sense  of  the  lack  of  real  insight  and  sympathy  on  the  part  of 
his  friends. 

28.  Be  pleased.  As  we  say  "be  good  enough."  Surely  I 
shall  not  lie  to  your  face.  Job's  thought  is  that  by  looking  him 
straight  in  the  face  they  could  tell  whether  in  the  assertion  of 
innocence  he  was  lying.  Consciousness  of  falsehood  betrays  itself 
in  the  countenance.     The  test  proposed  is  a  real  test. 

29.  Return.  We  should  rather  translate  "turn."  Job  con- 
tinues the  request  that  they  shall  look  in  his  face.     My  cause  is 

H  97 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


30.  Is  there  injustice  on  my  tongue  ? 

Cannot  my  taste  discern  mischievous  things  ? 
7.  Is  there  not  a  ^  warfare  to  man  upon  earth  ? 

And  are  not  his  days  like  the  days  of  an  hireHng  ? 
2.  As  a  servant  that  earnestly  desireth  the  shadow, 


1  m.  Or ,  time  of  service. 


righteous.  As  this  stands  it  is  an  assertion  of  his  innocence,  but 
as  it  is  preceded  by  the  request  that  they  "turn,"  we  should  prob- 
ably change  one  letter  of  the  Hebrew  and  read,  "let  justice  com  ." 
It  would  then  continue  Job's  invitation  that  they  apply  the  test 
of  scrutiny  while  he  asserts  his  innocence. 

30.  Is  there  injustice  on  my  tongue?  This  does  not  mean,"  have 
I  said  anything  wrong?  "  but  "is  my  tongue  wrong?  "  i.e.  has 
it  lost  its  sense  of  taste  so  that  it  deceives  me  ?  Cannot  my  taste 
discern?  "Taste"  is  used  figuratively  for  moral  insight.  He 
means,  Have  I  not  power  to  distinguish  right  and  wrong? 

(3)  A  renewed  outburst  in  which  Job  charges  God  with  cruelly  torment- 
ing him,  7  : 1-2 1 

1.  Warfare.  This  is  a  better  reading  than  that  of  the  margin. 
The  Hebrew  word  is  regularly  used  of  military  expeditions  and 
military  service.  It  is  the  same  word  that  is  rendered  "warfare  " 
in  Isa.  40  :  2. 

The  poet  with  masterly  skill  makes  Job  pass  for  a  moment 
from  his  own  particular  suffering  to  the  agonizing  travail  of  man- 
kind. Job  catches  for  a  moment  through  the  window  of  his  own 
torture  a  glimpse  of  the  sufferings  of  humanity,  and  those  suffer- 
ings are  pictured  under  the  figure  of  a  hard  military  campaign. 
The  hardships  must  be  endured,  and  endured  to  the  end ;  there  is 
no  discharge  (cf.  Eccl.  8:8).  The  hard  marches,  the  cold  and 
heat,  the  wounds  and  sickness,  must  be  endured  till  the  campaign 
is  finished.  Hireling.  This  might  mean  a  mercenary  soldier, 
since  it  is  so  used  in  Jer.  46  :  21  ;  but  as  it  means  "hired  laborer  " 
in  the  next  verse,  it  probably  means  that  here.  The  master  of  a 
slave  has  a  property  interest  in  the  slave's  welfare,  but  for  the 
hired  laborer  he  cares  nothing  personally.  He  wrings  from  him 
all  that  he  can.  So  the  poet  thinks  the  lot  of  this  type  of  laborer 
is  especially  hard. 

2.  A  servant  that  earnestly  desireth  the  shadow.  "Panteth 
for  the  shadow  "  would  be  a  better  translation  of  the  Hebrew 
word  than  "earnestly  desireth."  The  phrase  vividly  pictures  a 
slave  sweltering  under  the  fierce  Syrian  sun  and  panting  for  the 

98 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


And  as  an  hireling  that  looketh  for  his  wages : 

3.  So  am  I  made  to  possess  months  of  vanity, 
And  wearisome  nights  are  appointed  to  me. 

4.  When  I  He  down,  I  say, 

^  When  shall  I  arise  ?  but  the  night  is  long ; 
And  I  am  full  of  tossings  to  and  fro  unto  the 
dawning  of  the  day. 

5.  My  flesh  is  clothed  with  worms  and  clods  of  dust ; 
My  skin  ^  closeth  up  and  ^  breaketh  out  afresh. 

6.  My  days  are  swifter  than  a  weaver's  shuttle, 

1  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  When  will  it  be  day  thai  I  may  arise?  m.  Or,  When  shall  I  arise 
and  the  night  be  gone?  2  m.  Qr,  is  broken  and  become  loathsome.  ^  Syr.  Targ.  read 
is  moistened. 

cool  shadows  of  evening  when  labor  will  be  over.  Looketh  for 
his  wages.  Hired  laborers  are  paid  at  evening.  The  phrase 
is  equivalent  to  saying  that  he  longs  for  evening. 

3.  So  am  I.  Job's  intense  suffering  will  not  permit  him  to  be 
impersonal  for  long.  He  comes  quickly  back  from  his  glance  at 
humanity  to  a  personal  complaint.  Months  .  .  .  nights.  At 
first  sight  this  is  a  strange  parallel,  but  the  "months  "  expresses 
the  duration  of  sufferings,  and  the  "nights  "  the  degree  of  his  pain, 
which  was  more  intense  then. 

4.  When  I  lie  down.  This  explains  why  "night  "  was  used  so 
peculiarly  in  the  preceding  verse.  Job's  malady  made  the  nights 
particularly  irksome.  When  shall  I  arise?  It  is  better  to  read 
with  the  Greek,  Sahidic,  and  Ethiopic,  "When  will  it  be  day  that 
I  may  arise?  "  I  am  full  of  tossings.  This  explains  why  the 
night  seems  so  long. 

5.  With  worms.  Maggots.  This  is  one  of  the  results  of 
the  disease.  Closeth  up.  It  is  better,  taking  the  Hebrew  word 
from  a  different  root,  to  render  "  hardens."  Breaketh  out 
afresh.  This  is  the  sense  of  the  reading  which  the  Syriac  and 
Targum  support.     Scabs  form,  then  the  pus  pushes  through  again. 

6.  My  days  are  swifter.  This  is  not  in  contradiction  to  v.  4, 
for  "  days  "  refers  here  not  to  individual  days,  but  to  life  as  a 
whole.  The  Greek  and  Sahidic  render  it  "  life."  Life  as  a  whole 
is  brief  and  passes  quickly,  even  if  individual  days  seem  endless 
throes  of  agony.  As  noted  below,  however,  we  should,  perhaps, 
render  "  light  "  (i.e.  fragile)  instead  of  "  swifter,"  which  would 
change  the  figure  somewhat.     Than  a  weaver's  shuttle.     The 

99 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


And  are  spent  without  hope. 

7.  Oh  remember  that  my  life  is  wind : 
Mine  eye  shall  no  more  see  good. 

8.  ^  The  eye  of  him  that  seeth  me  shall  behold  me 

no  more  : 
Thine  eyes  shall  be  upon  me,  but  I  shall  not  be. 

1  This  verse  was  omitted  from  the  original  Greek  version,  is  lacking  in  Sah.,  and  is 
marked  as  doubtful  in  Theod. 

Hebrew  word  translated  "  weaver's  shuttle  "  really  means 
''weaver  "  or  "  web."  Indeed  it  is  uncertain  whether  the  looms 
known  in  Job's  time  had  shuttles.  The  most  primitive  loom  of 
the  wandering  Arabs  had  nothing  to  correspond  to  a  shuttle,  the 
thread  being  laboriously  put  through  by  hand.  That  described 
in  Jud.  16:  13,  14,  like  some  of  the  looms  pictured  on  Egyptian 
monuments,  apparently  carried  the  thread  through  the  warp  by 
means  of  a  stick  somewhat  wider  than  the  web,  which  also  served 
to  beat  the  thread  of  the  woof  back  into  place  (see  G.  F.  Moore, 
Commentary  on  Judges,  pp.  353  ff.,  and  Encyclopedia  Biblica, 
cols.  5280  and  5286).  Since  this  uncertainty  about  the  shuttle 
is  so  great,  it  is  perhaps  better,  as  some  scholars  have  done,  to 
render,  "  my  days  are  as  light  as  a  weaver's  thread."  This 
would  mean  that  the  cord  of  life  snaps  as  easily  as  the  fine  thread 
of  the  warp  of  a  web  in  process  of  being  woven.  And  are  spent 
without  hope.  In  case  we  adopt  the  rendering  of  the  first  half 
of  the  verse  just  suggested,  we  should  render  this,  "  and  come 
to  an  end  for  lack  of  thread  "  —  a  meaning  to  which  the  Hebrew- 
lends  itself. 

7.  Oh  remember.  This  is  addressed  to  God ;  when  Job 
addresses  his  friends,  he  uses  in  the  Heb.  the  plural,  which  would 
be,  "  remember  ye."  For  a  moment  in  this  address  there  crops 
out  a  touching  bit  of  Job's  old  free  familiarity  with  God.  It  is 
touching  in  view  of  the  arraignment  of  God  which  he  makes  in 
the  following  verses.  My  life  is  wind.  In  its  passing  brevity. 
No  more  see  good.  That  is,  in  this  brief  life.  As  the  unat- 
tractive existence  in  Sheol  was  not  regarded  as  life,  it  means  that 
he  will  never  again  see  peace  and  prosperity. 

8.  The  eye  of  him  that  seeth  me  shall  behold  me  no  more. 
This  verse  was  not  contained  in  the  Greek  version  used  by 
Origen,  is  lacking  in  the  Sahidic,  and  is  marked  as  doubtful  in 
Theod.  As  it  anticipates  the  climax  reached  in  v.  21  and  is 
tautological  in  itself,  it  should  probably  be  omitted. 

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THE  BOOK  OF  JOB  .7  :  14 


9,  As  the  cloud  is  consumed  and  vanisheth  away, 

So  he  that  goeth  down  to  ^  Sheol  shall  come  up  no 
more. 

10.  He  shall  return  no  more  to  his  house, 
Neither  shall  his  place  know  him  any  more. 

11.  Therefore  I  will  not  refrain  my  mouth ; 
I  will  speak  in  the  anguish  of  my  spirit ; 

I  will  complain  in  the  bitterness  of  my  soul. 

12.  Am  I  a  sea,  or  a  sea-monster, 
That  thou  settest  a  watch  over  me  ? 

13.  When  I  say,  My  bed  shall  comfort  me, 
My  couch  shall  ease  my  complaint ; 

14.  Then  thou  scarest  me  with  dreams. 


m.  Or,  tlie  grave. 


9.  As  the  cloud.  A  beautiful  symbol  of  transitoriness,  espe- 
cially in  a  dry  country  like  Palestine.  Shall  come  up  no  more. 
This  is  the  old  Semitic  and  Old  Testament  view.  No  resurrec- 
tion was  looked  forward  to. 

10.  Shall  return  no  more.  This  verse  together  with  v.  9 
forms  a  four-line  couplet  on  the  hopelessness  of  death. 

11.  Therefore  I  will  not  refrain  my  mouth.  The  brevity  of 
life  and  the  absence  of  a  future  life  made  the  intense  suffering  of 
the  few  brief  years  of  existence  unbearable.  Goaded  by  this, 
Job  determined  to  speak  out  his  mind,  even  to  God. 

12.  Am  I  a  sea.  In  38:  11  the  poet  has  beautifully  ex- 
pressed the  thought  that  God  at  creation  set  a  limit  to  the  waves 
of  the  sea  and  gave  directions  that  they  should  not  transgress  it. 
That  thought  seems  to  be  in  his  mind  here.  Floods  occurred  at 
times  in  many  parts  of  the  world,  and  these  gave  him  the  idea  that 
the  sea  was  ever  seeking  to  pass  beyond  its  limit,  and  that  God  was 
compelled  to  keep  a  constant  watch  over  it  to  prevent  its  doing 
so.  The  verse  contains  the  first  words  of  Job's  defiant  outpour- 
ing to  God  of  the  bitterness  of  his  soul,  to  which  v.  11  led  up.  A 
sea-monster.  This  is  a  reference  to  the  primitive  dragon 
Tiamat  of  the  Babylonian  Creation  story.     See  the  note  on  3  :  8. 

14.  Then  thou  scarest  me  with  dreams.  All  who  have  been 
ill  know  how  restless  the  patient's  sleep  often  is,  how  disturbed 
with  dreams.     Hoping  to  gain  a  little  refreshment  from  slumber 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


And  terrifiest  me  through  visions : 

15.  So  that  my  soul  chooseth  strangling, 
And  death  rather  than  these  my  bones. 

16.  ^  I  loathe  my  life;  I  ^  would  not  live  alway,^ 
Let  me  alone ;  for  my  days  are  ^  vanity. 

17.  What  is  man,  that  thou  shouldest  magnify  him, 
And  that  thou  shouldest  set  thine  heart  upon  him, 

18.  And  that  thou  shouldest  visit  him  every  morning, 
And  try  him  every  moment  ? 

19.  How  long  wilt  thou  not  look  away  from  me, 
Nor  let  me  alone  till  I  swallow  down  my  spittle  ? 

1  m.  Or,  /  waste  away.  2  m.  Or,  shall.  ^  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  read  the  line  Not 

Jorever  shall  I  live  that  I  should  he  patient.  *  m.  Or,  as  a  breath. 

he  often  awakens  more  weary  than  ever.     Job  charges  God  with 
deliberately  torturing  him  thus. 

15.  Strangling.  This  was  probably  suggested  by  the  choking 
or  sense  of  suffocation  which  was  a  result  of  Job's  disease. 
My  bones.  It  is  thought  by  many  to  be  a  graphic  way  of  de- 
scribing his  emaciated  body.  Many  modern  scholars  by  the 
change  of  one  letter  obtain  a  word  which  occurs  in  9:28  and 
means  ''my  pains."  The  text  as  it  stands  is,  however,  not  im- 
possible and  is  supported  by  all  the  versions. 

16.  Let  me  alone.  The  brevity  of  his  life  seems  to  Job 
a  good  reason  why  God  should  not  fill  its  few  days  with  torment. 

17.  What  is  man.  These  words  are  quoted  from  Ps.  8:5. 
In  the  Psalm  they  are  spoken  in  thankfulness  that  God  should 
think  upon  man  when  he  is  so  insignificant  in  contrast  to  the 
starry  heavens.  Job,  however,  quotes  the  words  in  sarcasm,  and 
in  the  same  spirit  alters  the  conclusion  of  the  sentence.  Shouldest 
magnify  him.  I.e.  in  thy  thought,  —  consider  him  a  being  of  any 
importance.  Set  thine  heart  upon  him.  I.e.  shouldst  think 
about  him  at  all. 

18.  Visit  him  every  morning.  The  word  rendered  "visit" 
is  one  that  suggests  a  tour  of  inspection,  as  though  God  could  not 
trust  man  alone  for  a  single  day.  Try  him  every  moment.  The 
word  rendered  "try"  we  might  translate  "scrutinize."  Job 
sarcastically  says  "man  is  a  little  creature,  but  God  thinks  him 
so  important  that  he  watches  him  all  the  time." 

19.  Till  I  swallow  down  my  spittle.     This  is  an  Arabian  pro- 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


20.  If  I  have  sinned,  what  ^  do  I  unto  thee,  O   thou 

2  watcher  of  men  ? 
Why  hast  thou  set  me  as  a  mark  for  thee, 
So  that  I  am  a  burden  to  ^  myself  ? 

21.  And  why  dost  thou  not  pardon  my  transgression, 

and  take  away  mine  iniquity  ? 
For  now  shall  I  lie  down  in  the  dust ; 
And  thou  shalt  seek  me  diligently,  but  I  shall  not 

be. 

3.    The  First  Speech  of  Bildad  the  Shuhite,  Ch.  8 

8.  Then  answered  Bildad  the  Shuhite,  and  said, 

2.  How  long  wilt  thou  speak  these  things  ? 

1  m.  Or,  can  I  do.    ^  2  m.  Or,  preserver.  '  2  MSS.  Gr.  Syr.  Sah.  Eth.  and 

Jewish  scribal  corrections  read  thyself. 

verbial  expression  for  a  short  time,  like  our  "in  the  twinkling  of 
an  eye." 

20.  Thou  watcher  of  men.  While  the  rendering  of  the  margin 
is  possible,  we  should  by  all  means  keep  that  of  the  text.  Job 
is  in  a  defiant,  not  a  reverential  mood.  Sarcastically  he  ad- 
dressed God  as  the  "  watcher  of  men "  ;  it  seems  to  him  in  his 
present  mood  petty  business  for  the  great  God,  He  claims  that 
even  if  he  has  sinned,  he  is  so  small  that  his  sin  could  in  no  way 
harm  the  omnipotent  God.  Thou  hast  set  me  as  a  mark. 
The  figure  is  here  changed.  Job  thinks  of  himself  as  a  target  at 
which  God  amuses  himself  by  shooting.  To  myself.  On  the 
basis  of  the  authorities  quoted  above  we  should  read  "to  thyself." 
Job  in  that  case  was  saying  that  all  God's  unnecessary  attention 
to  him  made  him  a  burden  to  God.  Of  course  it  is  a  continuation 
of  his  sarcasm, 

21.  Why  dost  thou  not  pardon  .  .  .  mine  iniquity?  The 
thought  of  the  verse  is,  that  even  if  Job  had  sinned  against  God, 
God  could  afford  to  forgive  him,  since  Job's  life  is  brief  and  he 
will  soon  be  undistinguishable  from  any  other  dust. 

(i)    The  discriminating  fairness  of  God,  8:  1-7 

1.  Bildad  the  Shuhite.     See  note  on  2  :  11. 

2.  These  things.     A  reference  to  the  words  of  Job  in  7  :  12-21, 

103 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


And  how  long  shall  the  words  of  thy  mouth  be 
like  a  mighty  wind  ? 

3.  Doth  God  pervert  judgement  ? 

Or  doth  the  Almighty  pervert  justice? 

4.  ^  If  thy  children  have  sinned  against  him, 

And  he  have  delivered  them  into  the  hand  of 
their  transgression: 

5.  ^  If  thou  wouldest  seek  diligently  unto  God, 
And  make  thy  supplication  to  the  Almighty ; 

6.  If  thou  wert  pure  and  upright ; 
Surely  now  he  ^  would  awake  for  thee, 

1  m.  Or,  If  thy  children  sinned  .  .  .  he  delivered  &*c.  2  Qx.  Sah.  Eth.  But  do  thou 

seek.  '  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  would  be  entreated  of  thee. 

Possibly  Bildad  also  had  in  mind  6:  10,  29  and  7:  i,  2.  A 
mighty  wind.  This  comparison  may  have  been  intended  to  sug- 
gest that  Job's  words  were  empty,  i.e  mere  wind,  or  (and  this  is 
the  more  probable  view)  that  like  a  whirlwind  they  uprooted  long- 
cherished  beliefs. 

3.  Doth  God  pervert  judgement?  "God  "and  "Almighty" 
are  placed  by  Bildad  in  emphatic  positions  in  the  two  clauses. 
Bildad  thereby  expresses  his  astonishment  at  Job's  utterances. 
Job's  words  reduced  to  their  essence  charged  God  with  injustice. 
To  Bildad  God  and  injustice  were  mutually  exclusive  ideas. 
Bildad  was  right,  except  that  his  philosophy  of  God's  relation  to 
suffering  was  erroneous. 

4.  If  thy  children  have  sinned.  It  is  better  to  translate  the 
verse  according  to  the  suggestion  of  the  margin  as  a  sentence  com- 
plete in  itself:  "If  thy  children  sinned,  he  delivered  them  into 
the  hand  of  their  transgression."  I.e.  their  death  came  to  them 
as  a  just  punishment  from  God. 

5.  If  thou  wouldest  seek.  It  is  better  to  read  with  the  three 
versions  cited  above,  "But  do  thou  seek."  Bildad  means  to 
imply  that  Job's  sin  is  less  heinous  than  that  of  his  children 
because  God  has  spared  his  life.  This  presents  an  opportunity 
for  repentance  and  for  seeking  forgiveness.  Bildad  exhorts  Job 
to  embrace  this  opportunity. 

6.  If  thou  wert  pure  and  upright.  The  Hebrew  contains  no 
verb  ;  it  is  simply  :  "If  pure  and  upright  thou."  Bildad  believes 
that  Job  had  sinned  or  he  would  not  have  been  afflicted,  but  he 
thinks  that  perhaps  affliction  has  produced  repentance  and  made 

104 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


And  make  the  habitation  of  thy  righteousness 
prosperous. 

7.  And  though  thy  beginning  was  small, 
Yet  thy  latter  end  should  greatly  increase. 

8.  For  inquire,  I  pray  thee,  of  the  former  age, 
And  ^  apply  thyself  to  that  which  ^  their  fathers 

have  searched  out : 

9.  (For  ^  we  are  but  of  yesterday,  and  know  noth- 

ing, 
*  Because  our  days  upon  earth  are  a  shadow :) 
10.  Shall  not  they  teach  thee,  and  tell  thee. 

And  utter  words  out  of  their  heart  ? 

1  Syr.  Ar.  understand  that  which.  2  Gr.  Sah.  Vulg.  Eth.  omit  their.  *  Heb. 

Gr.  OLat.  Vulg.  Syr.  Sah.  yesterday  are  we.  *  Syr.  Ar.  Like  a  shadow  are  our  days. 

Job  sufficiently  pure  so  that  God  would  hear  his  prayer.  He 
would  awake  for  thee.  With  the  three  versions  quoted  above 
we  should  read:  "He  will  be  entreated  of  thee."  This  is  much 
more  in  accord  with  Bildad's  reverent  way  of  speaking  of  God. 

7.  Thy  beginning.  This  refers  to  Job's  condition  before  his 
affliction.  Thy  latter  end  should  greatly  increase.  Bildad 
heartily  believes  the  doctrine  that  goodness  brings  material 
prosperity  in  this  life.  He  looks  forward,  if  Job  repents,  to  a 
material  prosperity  for  Job  which  shall  make  all  his  former  wealth 
seem  insignificant. 

(2)   The  moral  wisdom  of  the  ancients,  8  :  8-19 

8.  Former  age  .  .  .  fathers  searched  out.  Reverence  for 
the  past  is  deeply  ingrained  in  most  pious  souls.  It  always 
seems  that  the  ancients  stood  nearer  than  we  to  the  fountain 
of  wisdom,  that  they  were  endowed  with  superior  intelligence, 
and  that  the  cumulative  experience  of  their  lives  we,  whose  lives 
cover  but  a  span,  have  no  right  to  question.  This  is  the  attitude 
of  Bildad. 

9.  Our  days  are  a  shadow.  Bildad  thinks  the  individual  has  no 
right  from  his  little  bit  of  experience  to  question  the  accumulated  ex- 
perience of  the  ages. 

10.  Out  of  their  heart.  As  the  heart  was  one  of  the  terms 
for  the  whole  inner  nature,  including  the  mind,  this  is  equivalent 
to  saying  that  they  will  utter  words  out  of  their  wisdom. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


11.  Can  the  ^  rush  grow  up  without  mire  ? 
Can  the  ^  flag  grow  without  water  ? 

12.  Whilst  it  is  yet  in  its  greenness,  and  not  cut 

down, 
It  wi there th  before  any  other  herb. 

13.  So  are  the  ^  paths  of  all  that  forget  God ; 
And  the  hope  of  the  godless  man  shall  perish: 

14.  Whose  confidence  shall  ^  break  in  sunder. 
And  whose  trust  is  a  spider's  ^  web. 

15.  He  shall  lean  upon  his  house,  but  it  shall  not 

stand : 
He  shall  hold  fast  thereby,  but  it  shall  not 
endure. 

16.  He  is  green  before  the  sun, 

1  m.  Or,  papyrus.       ^  m.  Or,  reed-grass.         '  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  latter  end.        <  m.  Or, 
be  cut  of.        '  m.  Or,  house. 

11.  Rush  .  .  .  flag.  These  are  both  Egyptian  words  which  the 
Hebrew  has  borrowed ;  it  is  better  with  the  margin  to  render  them 
"papyrus  "  and  "reed-grass."  Bildad  begins  here  to  quote  actual 
samples  of  the  wisdom  of  the  ancients.  This  wise  observation 
about  cause  and  efifect  is  clearly  quoted  from  the  Egyptians. 

12.  In  its  greenness.  Before  it  begins  to  ripen  and  show 
signs  of  decay.  It  withereth.  Lack  of  moisture  is  as  fatal  to 
it  as  the  scythe. 

13.  So  are  the  paths.  Here  the  application  of  the  figure 
begins.  It  is  better  to  read  with  the  three  versions  cited  above, 
"the  latter  end."  The  transposition  of  two  letters,  and  a  slight 
change  in  another,  made  the  difference. 

14.  Spider's  web.  As  the  margin  shows,  it  is  literally  "spi- 
der's house."  This  makes  the  connection  with  v.  15  plain. 
Nothing  is  more  fragile  than  a  spider's  web.  This  is  a  favorite 
simile  in  the  East.  Mohammed  in  the  Coran,  Sura  29  :  40,  says : 
"  the  weakest  of  all  houses  is  the  house  of  the  spider."  It  becomes 
a  powerful  simile  of  Bildad's  view  of  the  hope  of  the  wicked. 

15.  He  shall  hold  fast  thereby.     In  order  to  support  himself. 

16.  He  is  green  before  the  sun.  The  poet  returns  now  to  the 
figure  of  a  plant  which  he  had  begun  in  v.  11.  The  godless  man 
is  likened  to  a  luxuriant  plant  growing  in  a  garden. 

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THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


And  his  shoots  go  forth  over  his  garden. 

17.  His  roots  are  wrapped  ^  about  the  heap, 
2  He  beholdeth  ^  the  place  of  stones. 

18.  If  he  be  destroyed  from  his  place, 

Then  it  shall  deny  him,  saying,  I  have  not  seen 
thee. 

19.  *  Behold,  this  is  the  joy  of  his  way. 

And  out  of  the  ^  earth  shall  others  spring. 

20.  Behold,  God  will  not  cast  away  a  perfect  man, 

1  m.  Or,  beside  the  spring.  2  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  He  lives.  « i  Heb.  MS.  Gr. 

Vulg.  Sah.  Eth.  read  between  instead  of  the  place  of.  ^3  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  Thus 

is  the  destruction  of.  ^  Or,  dust. 

17.  About  the  heap.  This  makes  no  sense,  and  it  is  better  to 
read  with  the  margin,  "beside  the  spring."  The  Hebrew  word 
used  here  means  spring  in  Cant.  4:  12.  One  of  the  greatest  ad- 
vantages a  plant  can  have  in  the  East  is  to  have  its  roots  beside 
a  spring.  He  beholdeth.  It  is  better  to  read  with  the  versions 
cited  above  "He  liveth."  The  reading  is  obtained  by  the  change 
of  one  Hebrew  letter,  and  gives  us  a  much  more  vital  meaning. 
The  place  of  stones.  The  authorities  cited  above  give  a  much 
better  reading,  "among  the  stones."  Again  it  is  obtained  by 
the  change  of  a  single  Hebrew  letter.  By  the  side  of  a  spring  a 
plant  will  flourish  even  in  a  rocky  soil,  and  in  Palestine  all  soil 
is  rocky.  Some,  however,  keep  the  Hebrew  text  of  the  phrase 
and  translate  "  He  lives  in  a  house  of  stones,"  i.e.  the  stone  house, 
above  the  spring.  As  plants  do  not  flourish  so  well  in  a  house, 
this  does  not  seem  so  natural  as  the  explanation  first  given. 

18.  Then  it  shall  deny  him.  However  luxuriant  the  plant,  it 
passes  away,  leaving  no  trace.  The  place  where  it  stood  bears  no 
witness  to  its  ever  having  been  there.  This  lack  of  testimony 
the  poet  vividly  represents  as  denial. 

19.  Behold,  this  is  the  joy  of  his  way.  A  far  more  powerful 
and  appropriate  conclusion  to  the  figure  is  obtained,  if,  with  the 
authorities  cited  above,  we  read:  "Thus  is  the  destruction  of  his 
way."  Like  the  once  flourishing  plant,  the  sinner  disappears  in 
an  absolute  destruction,  and  out  of  the  dust  where  he  stood  an- 
other rises.     Such  is  Bildad's  belief. 

(3)    Bildad's  summary,  8  :  20-22 

20.  God  will  not  cast  away  a  perfect  man,  etc.  This  is  the 
doctrine  toward  which  Bildad  has  all  along  been  aiming.     It  is 

107 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


Neither  will  he  uphold  the  evil-doers. 

21.  ^  He  will  yet  fill  thy  mouth  with  laughter, 
And  thy  lips  with  shouting. 

22.  They  that  hate  thee  shall  be  clothed  with  shame ; 
And  the  tent  of  the  wicked  shall  be  no  more. 

4.  JoVs  Reply  to  Bildadf  Chs.  9,  10 

9.  Then  Job  answered  and  said, 

2.  Of  a  truth  I  know  that  it  is  so : 

2  But  how  can  man  be  just  ^  with  God  ? 

3.  ^  If  he  be  pleased  to  contend  with  him, 

I  m.Or,  Till  he  fill-  ^m.Oi,  For.  ^  m.  Oi ,  before.  *  m.  Or,  I 

should  desire  .  .  .  he  could  not  &*c. 

identical  with  the  doctrine  of  Eliphaz  and  assumes  that  Job  has 
sinned. 

21.  He  will  yet  fill  thy  mouth  with  laughter.  In  this  verse 
the  reading  of  the  text  is  preferable  to  that  of  the  margin.  The 
verse  expresses  Bildad's  exhortation  to  Job  to  repent  and  find 
joy.  The  exhortation  is  skilfully  expressed  as  a  conviction, 
because  it  was  more  tactful  so  to  do. 

22.  They  that  hate  thee,  etc.  By  this  expression  Bildad 
implies  that  he  and  his  friends  are  not  of  this  number ;  they  are 
Job's  friends  and  well-wishers.  The  wicked.  The  wicked  are 
skilfully  identified  with  those  who  hate  Job.  Job  is  excluded 
from  the  number.  Thus  Bildad  implies  that  Job,  though  he  has 
merited  chastisement,  is  not  thoroughly  bad,  and  thus  seeks  to 
lead  him  back  to  God. 

(i)  God  is  so  great  and  terrible  that  man  cannot  establish  his  inno- 
cence with  him,  ch.  g 

2.  I  know  that  it  is  so.  These  words  refer  back  to  BildadV 
statement  in  8  :  20  : 

"Behold,  God  will  not  cast  away  a  perfect  man." 
The  truth  of  this  Job  admits,  but  he  asks :  How  shall  a  man  be 
just  with  God  ?  A  man  may  be  upright,  as  Job  is  conscious  that  he 
is  ;  and  yet,  if  God  take  a  different  view  of  the  case,  how  is  the  man 
to  establish  his  righteousness?  This  is  Job's  point  of  view.  God 
is  omnipotent,  majestic,  terrible,  how  shall  puny  man  answer  him? 

3.  If  he  be  pleased.     We  should  read  with  the  margin,  *'I£ 

108 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


He  cannot  answer  him  one  of  a  thousand. 

4.  He  is  wise  in  heart,  and  mighty  in  strength : 
Who  hath  hardened  himself  against  him,  and 

prospered  ? 

5.  Which  removeth  the  mountains,  and  ^  they  know 

it  not, 
2  When  he  overturneth  them  in  his  anger. 

6.  Which  shaketh  the  earth  out  of  her  place. 
And  the  pillars  thereof  tremble. 

7.  Which  commandeth  the  sun,  and  it  riseth  not ; 
And  sealeth  up  the  stars. 


1  Syr.  Ar.  he  knows  it  not.  «  Gr.  Syr.  Sah.  Eth.  And  overturns. 


one  should  desire."  To  contend.  The  word  is  the  technical 
term  for  entering  upon  a  lawsuit.  Such  a  suit  involves  question- 
ing and  cross-questioning.  He  cannot  answer  him.  Man  could 
not  answer  the  puzzling  questions  that  God  would  put.  This 
is  now  Job's  feeHng,  and  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  later,  when 
God  does  answer  Job  out  of  the  whirlwind,  his  answer  consists 
almost  exclusively  of  questions  to  which  man  can  give  no  answer. 

4.  Wise  in  heart.  "Heart  "  here  stands  for  the  mind.  And 
prospered.  Literally  "been  well"  or  safe.  We  should  say: 
"Who  hath  hardened  himself  against  him  with  impunity?  " 

5.  Which  removeth  mountains.  We  should  render,  "Who 
removeth  mountains."  The  reference  is  to  God.  They  know  it 
not.^^  We  should  read  with  the  Syriac  and  Arabic,  "he  knows  it 
not."  The  thought  is  that  God  is  so  powerful  that  he  can  remove 
a  mountain  without  being  conscious  of  it.  When  he  overturneth. 
We  should  read  with  the  versions  cited  above,  "And  he  over- 
turneth." 

6.  Which  shaketh  the  earth.  Better,  "Who  shaketh  the 
earth."  The  verse  is  a  poetical  description  of  an  earthquake. 
The  pillars  thereof.  With  many  of  the  ancients  the  author, 
perhaps,  believed  that  the  earth  rested  upon  pillars  (Cf.  Ps. 
75  :  3))  but  this  is  apparently  contradicted  in  26  :  7. 

7-  Which  commandeth.  Again,  "Who  commandeth"  is 
better.  The  sun,  and  it  riseth  not.  Possibly  the  reference  is  to 
echpses,  but  it  is  more  probably  to  clouds  and  storms,  which  ob- 
scure the  sun  and  make  it  seem  not  to  have  arisen.  He  sealeth 
up  the  stars.     They  were  thought  to  remain  in  dweUings  whence 

109 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


8.  Which  alone  stretcheth  out  the  heavens, 
And  treadeth  upon  the  ^  waves  of  the  ^  sea. 

9.  Which  maketh  the  Bear,  Orion,  and  the  Pleiades, 
And  the  chambers  of  the  south. 

10.  Which  doeth  great  things  past  finding  out ; 
Yea,  marvellous  things  without  number. 

11.  Lo,  he  goeth  by  me,  and  I  see  him  not: 
He  passeth  on  also,  but  I  perceive  him  not. 

12.  Behold,  he  seizeth  the  prey,  who  can  ^  hinder  him  ? 

1  m.  Heb.  high  places.  ^  3  Heb.  MSS.  clouds.  '  m.  Or,  turn  him  back. 

God  brought  them  out  to  shine,  calling  them  all  by  their  names 
(see  Isa.  40 :  26).  The  coming  of  clouds  is  here  poetically  called 
the  sealing  up  of  their  dwellings. 

8.  WMch  alone.  Better,  "Who  alone."  Waves  of  the  sea. 
There  is  a  little  manuscript  authority  for  reading  instead  of 
"waves  of  the  sea,"  "high  places  of  the  clouds."  This  would 
make  the  last  clause  synonymous  with  the  first.  "  High  places  "  is, 
however,  a  very  poetic  term  for  "waves,"  and  as  all  the  versions 
and  most  of  the  MSS.  read  "sea  "  we  must  retain  the  present  text. 

9.  Bear,  Orion,  and  the  Pleiades.  All  scholars  agree  that  the 
Hebrew  terms  refer  to  stars,  but  there  is  some  uncertainty  as  to 
which  constellations  were  meant.  "The  Bear"  or  Arcturus 
seems  certain.  The  word  rendered  "Orion"  literally  means 
"fool,"  and  is  thought  to  refer  to  an  old  myth  that  a  giant  was 
bound  in  the  sky.  Perhaps  the  myth  referred  to  Orion.  The 
word  rendered  "Pleiades,"  if  it  is  of  Hebrew  origin,  means 
"heap,"  and  is  thought  to  refer  to  the  "heap  "  of  seven  stars  in 
the  Pleiades.  Some  think,  however,  that  the  reference  is  to  the 
dog  star  Sirius  and  find  in  38:31  a  reference  to  the  chain  by 
which  the  dog  was  held.  To  whatever  stars  reference  is  made, 
it  is  clear  that  the  poet  regards  their  creation  as  one  of  the  evi- 
dences of  God's  greatness. 

10.  Which.  "Who"  is  a  better  rendering.  Doeth  great 
things.  The  verse  is  quoted  from  Eliphaz  in  5:9.  Job,  how- 
ever, quotes  it  with  a  very  difierent  purpose. 

11.  I  see  him  not.  Because  God  is  invisible  and  his  activities 
are  elusive.  Job  feels  that  they  are  the  more  terrible. 

12.  He  seizeth  the  prey.  God's  actions  are  irresistible. 
Job  likens  them  to  the  actions  of  a  powerful  beast  of  prey  before 
which  man  is  helpless. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


Who  will  say  unto  him,  What  doest  thou  ? 

13.  God  will  not  withdraw  his  anger ; 

The  helpers  of  ^  Rahab  ^  do  stoop  under  him. 

14.  How  much  less  shall  I  answer  him, 

And  choose  out  my  words  to  reason  with  him? 

15.  3  Whom,  ^  though  I  were  righteous,   yet  ^  would 

I  not  answer ; 
I  would  make  supplication  to  ®  mine  adversary. 

1  m.  Or,  arrogancy.     See  Isa.  30 :  7.  m.  Or,  did.         ^  Gr.  Sjt.  Sah.  omit  whom. 

*  Heb.  if.  B  Gr.  Theod.  Syr.  Sah.  Eth.  would  I  not  be  answered.  "  m.  Or,  him  that 
would  judge  me.     Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  his  justice. 

13.  Helpers  of  Rahab.  These  were  the  helpers  which  the  myth- 
ical sea-monster  of  the  Babylonian  Creation  poem  created  (see 
note  on  3:8).  These  ''helpers"  were  pictured  in  the  following 
terms : 

"  monster-serpents, 
Sharp  of  tooth  and  merciless  of  fang ; 
With  poison  instead  of  blood  she  filled  their  bodies. 
Fierce  monster-vipers  she  clothed  with  terror, 
With  splendor  she  decked  them,  made  them  lofty  of  stature. 
Whoever  beheld  them,  terror  overcame  him. 
Their  bodies  reared  up  and  none  could  withstand  their  attack." 

(See  King's  Seven  Tablets  of  Creation,  Vol.  II,  p.  17).  Job,  re- 
placing the  Babylonian  god  by  God,  declares  that  even  these 
mighty  monster-like  helpers   of   Rahab  bowed   under  his  power. 

14.  How  much  less  shall  I  answer  him.  In  striking  contrast 
to  these  superhuman  monsters  is  puny  man.  If  they  were  help- 
less, how  much  more  is  he ! 

15.  Whom,  though  I  were  righteous.  The  Hebrew  text  of  the 
verse  is  corrupt.  It  should  be  corrected  by  the  ancient  authori- 
ties cited  above  so  as  to  read : 

"Though  I  were  righteous,  I  should  not  be  answered; 
I  should  make  supplication  for  his  justice." 

Job  declares  that  God  does  not  answer  even  the  righteous.  They 
cry,  and  he  is  silent.  They  have  to  supplicate  even  for  his  mere 
justice.^  It  is  a  severe  arraignment  of  God;  but  it  shows  the 
beginning  in  Job  of  a  feeling  that  there  should  be  an  ethical 
quality  in  God.  Might  is,  he  feels,  not  right  simply  because  it 
is  omnipotent. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


1 6.  If  I  had  called,  and  he  ^  had  answered  me ; 

Yet  would  I  not  believe  that  he  hearkened  unto 
my  voice. 

17.  2  For  he  breaketh  me  with  a  tempest, 
And  multiplieth  my  wounds  without  cause. 

18.  He  will  not  suffer  me  to  take  my  breath, 
But  fiUeth  me  with  bitterness. 

19.  ^  If  we  speak  of  the  strength  of  the  mighty,  ^  lo, 

he  is  there  ! 
And  if  of  judgement,  who  will  appoint  me  a  time  ? 

1  The  oldest  Gr.  MS.  reads  he  would  not  answer.  *  m.  Heb.  Ee  who.  '  m.  Or, 
//  we  speak  of  strength,  lo  he  is  mighty.  Gr.  Sym.  Syr.  Sah.  Ar.  he  is  mighty.  *  m.  Or, 
Lo,  here  am  I,  saith  he ;  and  if  of  judgment.  Who  &'c. 

16.  If  I  had  called,  and  he  had  answered  me.  The  verse 
as  it  stands  makes  Job  declare  that  if  God  really  answered  him, 
he  would  not  believe  his  own  experience  of  the  answer.  This 
seems  impossible,  even  for  a  man  in  Job's  condition.  It  is  prob- 
able that,  as  one  ancient  authority  shows,  a  "not  "  has  fallen  out 
of  the  text,  and  that  we  should  translate  the  verse : 

"If  I  called,  he  would  not  answer  me; 
I  cannot  believe  that  he  would  hear  my  voice." 

This  makes  the  verse  a  sane  assertion  and  a  continuation  of  the 
thought  of  the  preceding  verse. 

17.  For  he  breaketh  me  with  a  tempest,  etc.  Job's  calamities 
had  come  upon  him  suddenly,  like  a  whirlwind,  and,  so  far  as  he 
could  see,  without  cause.  He  declares,  in  his  present  mood, 
that  such  is  God's  usual  course  of  action.  This  is  his  reason  for 
believing  that  God  will  not  hear  him,  or,  indeed,  any  suppHant. 

18.  FiUeth  me  with  bitterness.  A  forcible  exhibition  of  the 
sufferings  which  formed  the  basis  of  Job's  judgment  on  the  point 
under  discussion. 

19.  Of  the  strength  of  the  mighty,  lo,  he  is  there  !  The  text 
should  be  amended  with  the  versions  (see  above)  and  the  margin, 
and  we  should  translate  :  "If  we  speak  of  strength,  he  is  mighty." 
Job  acknowledges  God's  omnipotence.  "Who  will  appoint  me  a 
time?  Job  here  recurs  to  the  thought  of  v.  16.  God  is  omnip- 
otent, but  he  heeds  no  suppliant.  Job  accordingly  asks,  if  we 
talk  of  judgment  (i.e.  of  obtaining  justice  from  God),  who  will 
secure  an  appointed  meeting  with  him  for  the  purpose? 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB  9:23 


20.  Though  I  be  righteous,  mine  own  mouth  shall 

condemn  me : 
Though  I  be  perfect/  it  shall  prove  me  perverse. 

21.  2 1  ajn  3  perfect ;  I  regard  not  myself ; 
I  despise  my  life. 

22.  It  is  all  one ;  therefore  I  say, 

He  destroyeth  the  perfect  and  the  wicked. 

23.  If  the  scourge  slay  suddenly, 

1  m.  Or,  he.  2  m.  Or,  Though  I  be  perfect,  I  will  not  regard  6*c.  ^  m.  See 

ch.  I :  I. 

20.  Mine  own  mouth  shall  condemn  me.  Job  says  that  if 
such  a  meeting  could  be  secured,  and  he  were  perfect,  he  would 
be  so  overawed  by  God's  greatness  that  his  own  mouth  would 
condemn  him  in  spite  of  himself.  This  is  just  what  happens, 
though  in  a  different  way  than  Job  now  means  it,  in  42  :  6. 

21.  I  am  perfect.  The  English  would  better  reveal  the  force 
of  the  original  if  it  read  ''Perfect  I  am."  As  Job  speaks  he  under- 
goes a  sudden  revulsion  of  feeling.  The  consciousness  of  his 
innocence  surges  up,  and  he  declares,  "Perfect  I  am."  I  regard 
not  myself.  Job  throws  prudence  to  the  winds.  God  is  omnip- 
otent; he  may  crush  Job,  if  he  will,  but  in  the  consciousness  that 
he  has  not  merited  his  present  sufferings,  Job  suddenly  declares 
that  he  will  tell  the  truth  as  he  sees  it  regardless  of  consequences. 
I  despise  my  life.  He  means  that  he  is  not  speaking  as  prudence 
would  dictate,  if  he  did  regard  it.  The  first  clause  of  v.  22  should 
be  attached  to  this  verse.     We  should  then  obtain  a  full  line : 

"I  despise  my  life  ;   it  is  all  one  ;  " 

i.e.  it  makes  no  difference  what  happens  to  him. 

22.  It  is  all  one.  See  note  on  v.  21.  He  destroyeth  the  perfect 
and  the  wicked.  Having  thrown  prudence  to  the  winds.  Job 
speaks  out  his  real  thought,  which  is  that  in  reality  God  destroys 
the  perfect  and  wicked  alike.  If  one  looks  to  outward  prosperity 
only,  this  often  seems  to  be  the  case.  Therefore  I  say  is  too  short 
for  a  line.  It  should  probably,  as  Duhm  suggests,  be  omitted. 
As  that  leaves  v.  22  but  half  a  verse,  he  further  suggests  that 
the  last  line  of  v.  24,  which  has  three  lines,  be  transferred  to  this 
place.     We  then  obtain  the  following  complete  verse : 

"He  destroyeth  the  perfect  and  the  wicked. 
If  not  he,  then  who  is  it?  " 
I  113 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


He  will  mock  at  the  ^  trial  of  the  innocent. 

24.  The  earth  is  given  into  the  hand  of  the  wicked: 
He  covereth  the  faces  of  the  judges  thereof ; 

If  it  be  not  he,  who  then  is  it  ? 

25.  Now  my  days  are  swifter  than  a  ^  post : 
They  flee  away,  they  see  no  good. 

26.  They  are  passed  away  as  the  ^  swift  ships : 
As  the  eagle  that  swoopeth  on  the  prey. 

27.  If  I  say,  I  will  forget  my  complaint, 

I  will  put  off   my  sad  countenance,  and  ^  be  of 
good  cheer : 

28.  I  am  afraid  of  all  my  sorrows, 

1  m.  Or,  calamity.  *  m.  Or,  runner.         '  m.  Heb.  ships  of  reed.  *  m.  Heb. 

brighten  up. 

23.  He  will  mock  at  the  trial  of  the  innocent.  Many,  when 
smarting  under  deep  suffering,  have,  in  the  absence  of  clear  faith 
in  God,  felt  just  as  Job  does  here,  that  omnipotence  simply  makes 
sport  of  the  tenderest  feelings  and  acutest  agonies  of  the  heart. 

24.  The  earth  is  given  into  the  hand  of  the  wicked.  It  is 
often  hard  for  those  in  happier  circumstances  than  Job  not  to 
feel  thus.  Cf.  Ps.  73.  If  God  is  omnipotent,  is  he  not  responsible 
for  this?  It  is  this  thought  which  makes  Job  say:  He  covereth 
the  faces  of  the  judges.  I.e.  so  that  they  cannot  discern  justice. 
If  not  he,  etc.,  should  be  transposed  to  the  end  of  v.  22. 

25.  My  days  are  swifter  than  a  post.  We  should  read  with 
the  margin  "a  runner."  Job  returns  from  his  general  indict- 
ment of  God's  government  to  bewail  his  own  swiftly  passing  days. 
He  Hkens  them  to  a  swift  messenger,  chosen  for  his  fleetness  in 
running.  They  see  no  good.  Their  hard  experiences  as  well  as 
their  swiftness  embitter  them. 

26.  Swift  ships.  The  margin  renders  ''ships  of  reed."  The 
reference  is  to  papyrus  boats  with  wooden  keels  which  were  used 
on  the  Nile.  They  were  light  and  very  swift.  They  are  the 
"vessels  of  papyrus"  of  Isa.  18:2.  They  are  mentioned  by 
Pliny  and  Lucan  among  ancient  writers.  Job,  as  he  heaps  up 
metaphors  expressive  of  the  brevity  of  life  and  the  swiftness  with 
which  it  passes,  seizes  upon  these  boats  as  an  illustration. 

28.  I  am  afraid  of  all  my  sorrows.  This  is  the  conclusion  to 
the  condition  expressed  in  the  preceding  verse.     It  is  a  fine  pic- 

114 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


I  know  that  thou  wilt  not  hold  me  innocent. 

29.  I  shall  be  condemned ; 

Why  then  do  I  labour  in  vain  ? 

30.  If  I  wash  myself  ^  with  snow  water, 
And  2  make  my  hands  never  so  clean ; 

31.  Yet  wilt  thou  plunge  me  in  the  ^  ditch, 
And  mine  own  clothes  shall  abhor  me. 

32.  For  he  is  not  a  man,  as  I  am,  that  I  should  an- 

swer him, 
That  we  should  come  together  in  judgement, 
^T,.  There  is  no  ^  daysman  betwixt  us, 

1  m.  Another  ancient  reading  is,  with  snow.         2  m.  Heb.  cleanse  my  hands  with  lye. 
3  Gr.  Aq.  Vulg.  Sah.  Eth.  mire.         *  m.  Or,  umpire. 

ture  of  the  condition  of  a  patient  whose  nerves  are  shattered. 
Moments  of  relief  from  suffering  come,  but  the  sufferer  cannot 
then  be  cheerful  because  of  the  anticipation  of  the  pain  which  is 
sure  to  return.  Thou  wilt  not  hold  me  innocent.  Job  does  not 
recognize  the  action  of  general  laws.  All  is  in  his  view  the  direct 
activity  of  a  personal  God.  Each  pang  is  a  stroke  of  God  in- 
flicted because  God  accounts  him  guilty. 

29.  I  shall  be  condemned.  Rather  "be  guilty."  He  means 
that  God  will  account  him  guilty,  and  worthy  of  suffering,  so 
why  labor  to  establish  his  innocehce? 

30.  With  snow  water.  It  is  better  with  the  margin  to  render 
"with  snow."  The  whiteness  of  snow  seems  to  have  suggested 
to  the  poet  that  it  had  some  special  cleansing  power. 

31.  Plunge  me  in  the  ditch.  We  should  read  with  the  versions 
cited  above  "in  the  mire."  An  Oriental  ditch  is  often  too  dry 
to  soil  perceptibly  the  kind  of  clothing  worn.  The  verse  is  a 
poetical  way  of  saying  emphatically  what  had  already  been  said 
at  the  beginning  of  v.  29,  viz.   that  God  will  hold  him  guilty. 

32.  He  is  not  a  man,  as  I  am,  that  I  should  answer  him.  Job 
here  returns  to  the  thought  of  God's  greatness  which  he  had 
powerfully  described  in  vs.  3-10.  He  declares  that  there  is  no 
common  ground  of  reasoning  between  the  Omnipotent  and  a 
mere  man;    how  then  can  Job  be  justified? 

33.  There  is  no  daysman  between  us.  The  margin  suggests 
"umpire"  for  "daysman."  The  Hebrew  word  means  "judge." 
"Daysman,"  one  who  appoints  a  day  for  hearing  a  cause,  orig- 
inally signified  a  magistrate  or  "judge."     Job  feels  that  he  has 

"5 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


That  might  lay  his  hand  upon  us  both. 

34.  Let  him  take  his  rod  away  from  me, 
And  let  not  his  terror  make  me  afraid : 

35.  Then  would  I  speak,  and  not  fear  him ; 
For  I  am  not  so  in  myself. 

10.  My  soul  is  weary  of  my  life ; 

1 1  will  give  free  course  to  my  complaint ; 
I  will  speak  in  the  bitterness  of  my  soul. 
2.  I  will  say  unto  God,  Do  not  condemn  me ; 

Shew  me  wherefore  thou  contendest  with  me. 

1  Gr.  Sah.  /  will  let  loose  unto  him  my  complaint. 

been  unjustly  treated  by  God,  but  there  is  no  one  to  act  as  judge 
between  him  and  the  Almighty. 

34.  Let  him  take  his  rod  away  from  me  ...  let  not  his 
terror  make  me  afraid.  He  returns  here  to  the  thought  of  v.  20. 
The  mere  thought  of  the  Omnipotent  one  frightens  a  man  out  of 
his  self-command.  Then,  too,  the  terrible  affictions  which  Job 
suffered,  which  he,  like  his  friends,  regarded  as  the  "rod  of  God," 
had  unmanned  him. 

35.  For  I  am  not  so  in  myself.  This  refers  to  his  terror  in 
God's  presence.  Job  means  that  suffering  and  the  sense  of 
omnipotence  might  make  him  afraid,  but  he  was  not  so  in  himself, 
i.e.  he  found  no  cause  in  consciousness  of  wrongdoing  for  such 
terror. 

(2)    A  new  appeal  that  God  would  show  how  Job's  sufferings  are 
consistent  with  the  divine  nature,  ch.  10. 

1.  My  soul  is  weary  of  my  life.  Job  recurs  to  the  attitude  as- 
sumed in  7  :  15.  His  soul  is  weary  of  life;  he  longs  for  death. 
Compare  3:21.  I  will  give  free  course  to  my  complaint.  It  is 
better  to  read  with  the  versions  cited  above,  "I  will  let  loose  unto 
him  my  complaint."  As  in  9:  21  Job  throws  prudence  to  the 
winds  and,  regardless  of  consequences,  speaks  out  his  irmermost 
thought. 

2.  Do  not  condemn  me  .  .  .  show  me  wherefore,  etc.  Again 
there  emerges  into  conscious  thought  in  Job's  mind  the  feeling 
that  there  should  be  fairness  in  God,  that  simple  omnipotence  is 
not  sufficient  to  hold  the  reverence  of  men.  That  God  is  man's 
ethical  ideal  is  a  conviction  deeply  implanted  in  the  human  heart. 
To  this  conviction  religion  owes  its  upward  ethical  evolution. 

116 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB  lo 


3.  Is  it  good  unto  thee  that  thou  shouldest  oppress, 
That  thou  shouldest  despise  the  ^  work  of  thine 

hands, 
And  shine  upon  the  counsel  of  the  wicked  ? 

4.  Hast  thou  eyes  of  flesh, 

Or  seest  thou  as  man  seeth  ? 

5.  Are  thy  days  as  the  days  of  man, 
Or  thy  years  as  man's  days, 

6.  That  thou  inquirest  after  mine  iniquity, 
And  searchest  after  my  sin, 

7.  Although  thou  knowest  that  I  am  not  wicked; 

1  m.  Heb.  labour. 

Job  in  his  suffering  begins  to  recognize  the  need  of  ethical  qualities 
in  God.  The  recognition  led  him  to  speak  in  a  way  which  seemed 
to  his  friends  to  be  blasphemous.  Negative  work  always  seems 
blasphemous,  even  though  it  proceed,  as  in  Job's  case,  from  con- 
victions which  are  true  and  the  recognition  of  which  makes  in  the 
end  for  deeper  reverence  and  better  religion. 

3.  That  thou  shouldest  oppress  .  .  .  despise  the  work  of  thine 
hands  .  .  .  shine  upon  the  counsel  of  the  wicked.  This  verse 
gives  a  fuller  expression  to  the  ethical  defects  in  God's  govern- 
ment of  the  world  against  which  Job's  heart  was  rebelling.  The 
indictment  of  this  government  was  Job's  way  of  expressing  the 
conviction  that  goodness  should  rule  the  world. 

4.  Hast  thou  eyes  of  flesh?  etc.  If  God  had  human  limita- 
tions. Job  could  understand  why  his  government  of  the  world 
should  be  so  defective ;  it  would  be  for  lack  of  proper  information. 

5.  Are  thy  days  as  the  days  of  man?  A  man's  life  is  short. 
When  the  oldest,  he  still  has  experienced  but  a  little  of  life ;  he 
may  accordingly  make  mistakes.  If  God's  life  were  thus  brief, 
Job  could  understand  that  his  misgovernment  of  the  world  might 
come  from  inexperience. 

6.  That  thou  inquirest  after  mine  iniquity.  Job  interprets 
his  sufferings  as  tortures  inflicted  to  wrest  from  him  a  confession. 
The  verse  taken  in  connection  with  vs.  4,  5  means  that  if  God 
were  ignorant  and  inexperienced  like  man,  Job  could  understand 
why  he  should  need  to  resort  to  such  torture  to  gain  information. 

7.  Although  thou  knowest  that  I  am  not  wicked.  The  ut- 
terances of  the  preceding  verses  were  mere  suppositions.     Job 

117 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


And  there  is  none  that  can  deliver  out  of  thine 
hand? 

8.  Thine  hands  have  framed  me  and  fashioned  me 

^  Together  round  about ;    yet  thou  dost  destroy 
me. 

9.  Remember,  I  beseech  thee,  that  thou  hast  fash- 

ioned me  as  clay ; 
And  wilt  thou  bring  me  into  dust  again  ? 

10.  Hast  thou  not  poured  me  out  as  milk, 
And  curdled  me  like  cheese  ? 

11.  Thou  hast  clothed  me  with  skin  and  flesh. 
And  knit  me  together  with  bones  and  sinews. 

1  Gr.  Syr.  Sah.  Ar.  Eth.  Afterward  thou  turnest  about  and  destroyest  me. 

cannot  escape  believing  in  God's  omniscience.  He  knows  that 
he  is  innocent ;  he  feels  sure  that  God  knows  it.  The  verse  is 
in  reality  an  appeal  from  God  to  God  —  from  God's  seeming 
government  to  God's  ideal  goodness.  There  is  none  that  can 
deliver  out  of  thine  hand.  As  the  clause  stands  it  is  an  assertion  of 
the  all-powerfulness  of  God.  In  the  development  of  the  thought 
this  comes  in  appropriately,  since  Job  has  just  declared  his  faith 
in  God's  omniscience.  It  does  not,  however,  make  a  good  poet- 
ical parallelism  to  the  first  half  of  the  verse.  Duhm  accordingly 
corrects  to:  "There  is  no  iniquity  in  my  hand."  The  versions, 
however,  support  the  text  as  it  stands. 

8.  Together  round  about.  We  should  read  with  the  versions, 
"Afterward  thou  turnest  about.  Yet  thou  dost  destroy  me. 
Read  with  the  versions,  "and  destroyest  mc."  To  one  who  does 
not  catch  the  moral  purpose  which  lies  behind  life,  it  often  seems 
as  though  God  created  on  purpose  to  destroy.  So  it  seemed 
to  Job. 

9.  Thou  hast  fashioned  me  as  clay.  The  figure  is  that  of  a 
potter  who  has  spent  infinite  pains  in  bringing  to  perfection  a 
beautiful  vessel  and  who  then  wantonly  shatters  it.  Job  feels 
that  God  has  created  him  by  the  expenditure  of  much  time  and 
skill,  and  now  is  by  torture  destroying  prematurely  his  handiwork. 

10.  Poured  me  out  as  milk.  The  verse  describes  poetically 
the  initial  processes  of  procreation. 

11.  Clothed  me  with  skin  and  flesh.  The  verse  refers  to  the 
marvellous  formation  of  the  child  in  the  womb. 

118 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


12.  Thou  hast  granted  me  Hfe  and  favour, 

And  thy  ^  visitation  hath  preserved  my  spirit, 

13.  Yet  these  things  thou  didst  hide  in  thine  heart; 
I  know  that  this  is  with  thee : 

14.  If  I  sin,  then  thou  markest  me. 

And  thou  wilt  not  acquit  me  from  mine  iniquity. 

15.  If  I  be  wicked,  woe  unto  me ; 

And  if  I  be  righteous,  yet  shall  I  not  lift  up  my  head ; 
^  Being  filled  with  ignominy 
And  looking  upon  mine  affliction. 

16.  ^  And  if  my  head  exalt  itself,  thou  huntest  me  as  a 

lion: 


1  m.  Or,  care.  2  m.  Or,  I  am  filled  with  ignominy,  but  look  thou,  .  .  .  for  it  in- 

creaseth:  thou  &c.  ^  Syr.  Ar.  ///  rise  up. 

12.  Life  and  favour.  This  is  a  reference  to  his  birth.  Thy 
visitation  hath  preserved  my  spirit.  It  is  God's  constant  care 
that  has  kept  Job  alive.  A  part  of  that  care  has  been  expended 
to  keep  his  spirit  cheerful  and  happy. 

13.  Yet  these  things  thou  didst  hide  in  thine  heart.  "These 
things  "  refers  to  the  things  mentioned  in  the  succeeding  verses. 
While  apparent  prosperity  and  happiness  were  given  to  Job,  God 
had  these  misfortunes  in  his  mind  for  Job  all  the  time  —  at  least 
so  Job  thinks.  I  know  that  this  is  with  thee.  Better,  "this  was 
with  thee."  Job  feels  that  it  was  all  the  time  God's  sinister  pur- 
pose to  destroy  him.  His  former  happiness  but  threw  Job  off 
his  guard,  so  that  the  blow  fell  with  the  greater  severity. 

14.  Then  thou  markest  me.  God  notes  every  deviation  from 
the  path  of  righteousness.  Thou  wilt  not  acquit  me  from  mine 
iniquity.  Job  feels  that  God  is  perfectly  relentless.  If  one  sins 
in  the  least,  all  is  over ;   there  is  no  forgiveness. 

15.  If  I  be  wicked.  This  refers  to  greater  and  more  heinous 
offences  than  "sin."  Shall  I  not  lift  up  my  head.  Sin  condemns, 
but  righteousness  does  not  avert  condemnation.  So  Job  feels 
in  his  present  mood.  And  looking  upon  mine  affliction.  Neither 
the  text  nor  the  margin  gives  a  good  sense.  Several  interpreters 
have  suggested  that  the  change  of  one  Hebrew  letter  would  give, 
"And  saturated  with  afffiction."  This  emendation  should  be 
adopted. 

16.  If  my  head  exalt  itself.     The  Hebrew  has  no  word  for 

119 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


And  again  thou  shewest  thyself  marvellous  upon 
me. 

17.  Thou  renewest  ^  thy  witnesses  against  me, 
And  increasest  thine  indignation  upon  me ; 
^  Changes  and  warfare  are  with  me. 

18.  Wherefore  then  hast  thou  brought  me  forth  out 

of  the  womb  ? 
I  had  given  up  the  ghost,  and  no  eye  had  seen  me. 

19.  I  should  have  been  as  though  I  had  not  been ; 

I  should  have  been  carried  from  the  womb  to  the 
grave. 

20.  Are  not  ^  my  days  few  ?  ^  cease  then, 

1  Gr.  Sah.  upon  me  my  stroke.  ^  m.  Or,  Host  after  host  is  against  me.     Better 

still  with  Gr.  Syr.  Sah.  Ar.  Eth.  Thou  renewest  a  host  against  me.  *  Gr.  Syr.  Sah. 

Ar.  Eth.  the  days  of  my  life,  *  m.  Another  reading,  let  him  cease  and  leave  me  alone. 

"my  head  "  and  it  is  better  to  read  with  the  Syriac  and  Arabic 
versions,  "If  I  rise  up,  thou  huntest  me  as  a  lion."  The  verse 
continues  the  thought  of  the  preceding  verses  in  a  slightly  diflfer- 
ent  form.  Job  thinks  that  if  one  raises  himself  a  little  too  high, 
or  walks  a  little  too  proudly,  God  takes  pleasure  in  hunting  him 
down.  The  thought  is  similar  to  that  which  underlies  our  phrase 
"tempting  Providence." 

17.  Thou  renewest  thy  witnesses  against  me.  The  versions 
quoted  above  give  a  better  rendering:  "Thou  renewest  upon  me 
my  stroke,"  i.e.  my  affliction.  Changes  and  warfare  are  with 
me.  Again  it  is  better  with  the  versions  to  read  :  "Thou  renewest 
a  host  against  me."  The  thought  is  that  affliction  after  affliction 
comes  upon  him  like  the  successive  individuals  of  an  attacking 
army. 

18.  Wherefore  hast  thou  brought  me  forth  out  of  the  womb? 
If  God  is  so  determined  to  destroy  Job,  why  did  he  cause  him  to 
be  born  alive?  The  thought  returns  to  the  question  of  v.  9, 
though  with  different  imagery. 

19.  I  should  have  been  carried  out  of  the  womb  to  the  grave. 
In  expanding  in  synonymous  terms  the  thought  of  v.  18,  he  uses 
the  figure  employed  in  3  :  11  ff. 

20.  My  days  few.  Read  with  the  versions  cited  above,  "the 
days  of  my  life."  Cease  then.  These  words  are  omitted  by  the 
versions,  which  read  "the  days  of  my  life  are  few."     As  we  fol- 

120 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB  n 


And  let  me  alone,  tha-t  I  may  ^  take  comfort  a 
little, 

21.  Before  I  go  whence  I  shall  not  return, 

Even  to  the  land  of  darkness  and  of  the  shadow 
of  death  ; 

22.  A  land  of  thick  darkness,  as  darkness  itself  ; 

A  land  of  the  shadow  of   death,  ^  without  any 

order. 
And  where  the  light  is  as  darkness. 

5.   Zophar^s  First  Address,  Ch.  11 

11.       Then  answered  Zophar  the  Naamathite,  and  said, 
2.  Should  not  the  ^  multitude  of  words  be  answered  ? 

1  m.  Heb.  brighten  up.  »  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  without  brightness.  '  Gr.  Sym.  Sah. 

Eth.  one  who  multiplies  words. 

lowed  that  reading  in  the  former  clause,  we  omit  this.  That  I 
may  take  a  little  comfort.  Job's  thought  is  that  life  is  very  brief, 
death  means  simply  gloom  in  Sheol,  the  one  chance  he  has  for  any 
happiness  is  in  the  fleeting  days  of  a  short  life,  and  it  is  accord- 
ingly most  cruel  of  God  to  fill  those  brief  days  with  torture. 

21.  Before  I  go  whence  I  shall  not  retiim.  He  means,  to 
Sheol.     In  7  :  9  Job  had  said  : 

"He  that  goeth  down  to  Sheol  shall  come  up  no  more." 

The  thought  is  a  very  old  one.  In  the  Babylonian  poem  of  Ishtar^s 
Descent  the  underworld  is  called  the  ''Land'  of  No-Return.'* 
The  land  of  darkness.  This  thought  also  goes  back  to  Baby- 
lonia. In  Ishtar's  Descent,  it  is  said  of  those  in  the  underworld : 
"Light  they  see  not;   in  darkness  they  dwell." 

22.  Without  any  order.  The  verse  continues  and  impres- 
sively elaborates  the  thought  of  the  preceding  verses.  These 
words  "without  any  order"  come  in  awkwardly  and  without 
meaning.  We  should  by  a  very  slight  change  in  the  Hebrew 
read  with  the  versions  cited  above,  "without  brightness." 

(i)    Would  that  God  would  answer  Job,  11 :  2-6 

1.  Zophar  the  Naamathite.     See  note  on  2:11. 

2.  Should  not   the  multitude  of   words   be  answered?     We 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


And  should  a  man  full  of  talk  be  justified  ? 

3.  ^  Should   thy   boastings   make   men   hold   their 

peace  ? 
And  when  thou  mockest,  ^  shall  no  man  make 
thee  ashamed  ? 

4.  For  thou  sayest,  ^  My  doctrine  is  pure, 
And  I  am  clean  in  ^  thine  eyes. 

|.  But  Oh  that  God  would  speak, 

And  open  his  lips  against  thee ; 
6.  And  that  he  would  shew  thee  the  secrets  of  wis- 

dom, 

^  That  it  is  manifold  in  effectual  working  ! 

1  Syr.  At.  Concerning  thy  boastings  should  men,  b'c?  2  Gr.  Syr.  Ar.  Eth.  there  is 

no  one  who  restrains  thee.  3  Gr.  Syr.  Vulg.  Sah.  Ar.  My  walk.  *  Gr.  Sah. 

Eth.  his  eyes.  *  m.  Or,  For  sound  wisdom  is  manifold. 

should  read  with  the  versions  cited  above,  "Should  not  one  who 
multiplies  words,"  which  makes  the  parallelism  of  the  two  parts  of 
the  verse  synonymous.  Job's  long  speech  had  irritated  Zophar, 
and  he  begins  his  reply  with  impatient  words. 

3.  Thy  boastings.  We  should  read  with  the  Syriac  and  Arabic, 
"concerning  thy  boastings  should  men  be  silent?"  Job  had  in 
his  last  speech  asserted  his  innocence  (see  9:  21).  It  is  to  this 
that  Zophar  refers.  Such  a  boast  seems  to  him  blasphemous. 
When  thou  mockest.  Job's  arraignment  of  the  divine  govern- 
ment in  the  preceding  chapters  naturally  seemed  to  the  friends 
mockery.  Shall  no  man  make  thee  ashamed?  The  versions 
cited  above  give  a  better  meaning,  "  When  thou  mockest  and  there 
is  no  one  to  restrain  thee." 

4.  My  doctrine  is  pure.  We  should  read  with  the  versions 
cited,  "My  way  is  pure,"  i.e.  my  course  of  life  is  pure.  In  thine 
eyes.  It  is  better  to  keep  the  reading  of  the  Hebrew  text,  since 
Zophar  is  quoting  what  Job  has  said  to  God.  Zophar  is  shocked 
that  Job  should  dare  to  say  "I  am  perfect  "  (9:  21). 

5.  Oh  that  God  would  speak.  Job  had  intimated  (9 :  14  ff. 
and  32  ff.)  that  he  longed  to  come  face  to  face  with  God.  Zophar 
devoutly  wishes  that  he  might,  feeling  sure  that  if  he  did,  God 
would  make  Job  understand  that  he  is  a  sinner. 

6.  Wisdom.  The  wisdom  of  God,  which  orders  human  life. 
Effectual    working.     The    word    might    be    rendered    "efficient 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB  ii 


1  Know  therefore  that  God  ^  exacteth  of  thee  less 
than  thine  iniquity  deserveth. 

7.  3  Canst  thou  by  searching  find  out  God  ? 

Canst  thou  find  out  the  Almighty  unto  perfec- 
tion? 

8.  ^  It  is  high  as  heaven ;  what  canst  thou  do  ? 
Deeper  than  ^  Sheol ;   what  canst  thou  know  ? 

9.  The  measure  thereof  is  longer  than  the  earth, 
And  broader  than  the  sea. 

10.  If  he  pass  through,  and  shut  up, 

And  ®  call  unto  judgement,  then  who  can  hinder 
him? 

1  Gr.  Syr.  Vulg.  Ar.  Sah.  Eth.  That  thou  migktest  know  that,  b-c.  «  m.  Or,  remitteth 

(Heb.  causeth  to  be  forgotten)  unto  thee  of  thine  iniquity.  ^  m.  Or,  Canst  thou  find  out 

the  deep  things  of  God?  *  m.  Heb.  The  heights  of  heaven.     Aq.  Vulg.  Higher  than 

heaven.        *  m.  Or,  the  grave.  ^  m.  Heb.  call  an  assembly. 

wisdom  "  or  "abiding  success."  Zophar's  thought  is  that  God's 
wisdom  has  ordered  the  world  in  the  wisest  way  for  the  achieve- 
ment of  the  highest  ends.  Know.  It  is  better  with  the  versions 
to  read  "That  thou  mightest  know."  Exacteth  of  thee.  The 
margin  gives  the  better  rendering.  The  thought  is  that  God 
causes  to  be  forgotten  a  part  of  Job's  sins.  This  amounts  to  say- 
ing that  less  is  exacted  of  Job  than  he  deserves. 

(2)    Zophar  praises  Gocfs  wisdom,  11 :  7-12 

7.  Canst  thou  by  searching  find  out  God?  This  translation 
hardly  does  justice  to  the  Hebrew.  The  margin,  "  Canst  thou 
find  out  the  deep  things  of  God?  "  is  better.  The  Hebrew  means 
"  Canst  thou  find  out  what  is  to  be  explored  of  God?  "  i.e.  canst 
thou  understand  his  whole  nature? 

8.  It  is  high  as  heaven.  We  should  read  with  Aquila  and  the 
Vulgate,  "It  is  higher  than  heaven."  This  brings  it  into  accord 
with  the  phrases  which  follow.  While  Zophar  leaves  it  unde- 
termined whether  he  is  speaking  of  God's  nature  or  God's  wisdom, 
it  is  probable  from  the  context  that  he  refers  to  the  unsearchable 
character  of  God's  wisdom. 

ID.  If  he  pass  through.  Or  as  we  might  translate  it  "pass  by." 
Zophar  takes  up  Job's  words  in  9:11,  12.  And  shut  up. 
Arrest,  or  put  in  prison  to  await  trial.     Call  unto  judgement. 

123 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


11.  For  he  knoweth  vain  men : 

He  seeth  iniquity  also,  ^  even  though  he  consider 
it  not. 

12.  2  But  vain  man  is  void  of  understanding, 
Yea,  man  is  born  as  a  wild  ass's  colt. 

13.  If  thou  ^  set  thine  heart  aright, 

1  m.  Or,  and  him  that  considereth  not.  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  and  does  not  overlook  it.  Syr. 
At.  and  he  considers  it.  2  m.  Or,  But  an  empty  man  will  get  understanding,  when  b'c. 
'  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  purify  thine  heart. 

The  margin  gives  the  actual  force  of  the  Hebrew  ''call  an  as- 
sembly," but  the  text  gives  the  real  meaning,  since  judgments 
were  reached  in  an  assembly  (see  Pr.  5  :  14)  and  usually 
executed  at  once.  Who  can  hinder  him?  Literally,  "turn  him 
back."     They  are  the  very  words  employed  by   Job   in   9:   12. 

11.  He  seeth  iniquity  even  though  he  consider  it  not.  This 
is  according  to  the  present  pointing  of  the  Hebrew  text,  but  it 
puts  into  Zophar's  mouth  an  improbable  sentiment  and  is  out  of 
harmony  with  the  context.  The  marginal  rendering  is  hardly 
possible  from  the  Hebrew.  It  is  better  to  emend  the  text  with  the 
Gr.  Sah.  and  Eth.  so  as  to  read  "he  does  not  overlook  it." 

12.  But  vain  man  is  void  of  understanding.  This  rendering 
is  hardly  possible  from  the  Hebrew.  The  verse  is  very  difficult 
and  many  suggestions  have  been  made.  That  in  the  margin  is 
the  most  probable.     According  to  this  the  verse  reads : 

"  And  an  empty  man  will  get  understanding 
When  a  wild  ass's  colt  is  born  a  man." 

The  verse  forms  a  transition  from  Zophar's  eulogy  of  God's 
wisdom  to  his  exhortation  to  Job.  God  sees  all  iniquity,  he 
argues;  he  never  overlooks  it;  his  punishments  are  severe; 
but  foolish  men,  whatever  the  divine  chastisements,  never  be- 
come wise. 

(3)  Zophar's  exhortation  to  Job,  11  :  13-20 

^  13.  If  thou  set  thine  heart  aright.  Probably  we  should  read 
with  the  versions  cited  above,  "If  thou  purify  thine  heart." 
Zophar,  like  Eliphaz,  closes  his  speech  with  an  exhortation  to  Job 
to  repent,  promising  him  prosperity  if  he  does.  Since  the  argu- 
ment has  advanced  considerably  farther,  and  Zophar  as  he  lis- 
tened has  become  heated  by  the  debate,  he  assumes  Job's  guilt 
in  a  more  open  manner  than  Eliphaz  had  done. 

14.  If  iniquity  be  in  thine  hand.  The  verse  assumes  that  Job 
is  sinful  and  his  house  corrupt.     Zophar  exhorts  him  to  show  the 

124 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


And  stretch  out  thine  hands  toward  him ; 

14.  If  iniquity  be  in  thine  hand,  put  it  far  away, 
And  let  not  unrighteousness  dwell  in  thy  tents ; 

15.  ^  Surely  then  shalt  thou  lift  up  thy  face  ^  with- 

out spot ; 
Yea,  thou  shalt  be  stedfast,  and  shalt  not  fear : 

16.  For  thou  shalt  forget  thy  misery ; 

Thou  shalt  remember  it  as  waters  that  are  passed 
away: 

17.  And  thy  life  shall  ^  be  clearer  than  the  noonday; 
Though  there  be  darkness,   it  shall  be  as  the 

morning. 

18.  And  thou  shalt  be  secure,  because  there  is  hope ; 

1  Targ.  Surely  then.  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  Surely.  Syr.  Ar.  then.       2  Qx.  Sah.  Ar.  like  water. 
'  m.  Or,  arise  above. 


fruits  of  true  repentance  by  self-reformation  and  the  reformation 
of  his  household. 

15.  Surely  then.  The  Hebrew  means  ''For  then."  If  we 
read  "surely,"  we  follow  the  Gr.  Sah.  and  Eth.  versions,  but 
''surely  then  "  is  redundant,  and  we  should  choose  between 
"surely  "  of  the  three  versions  just  mentioned  or  "then  "  of  the 
Syriac  and  Arabic.  "Without  spot.  This  is  better  than  the  read- 
ing of  some  of  the  versions,  "like  water."  Shalt  be  stedfast, 
and  shalt  not  fear.  This  refers  to  Job's  description  of  his  fluc- 
tuating feelings  in  9:  27,  28  and  10:  15-17.  Zophar  thinks  he 
has  an  adequate  remedy  for  these  varying  states  of  feeling. 

16.  Thou  shall  forget  thy  misery.  Zophar  in  this  verse  vividly 
portrays  how  effective  his  remedy  will  be. 

17.  Though  there  be  darkness,  etc.  It  is  better  with  some 
of  the  versions  to  read:  "Darkness  shall  be  like  morning." 
Perhaps  the  reference  is  to  Job's  description  of  the  darkness  of 
Sheol,  10:21  ff.  In  this  case  Zophar  means  that  even  Sheol 
is  light  to  a  good  man.  He  may  mean,  however,  that  affliction 
is  light  because  the  good  man  is  conscious  that  it  is  for  his  purifi- 
cation. 

18.  Shalt  be  secure,  because  there  is  hope.  Zophar  here 
touches  upon  a  psychological  fact;  the  feelings  of  security  and 
cheerfulness   arise   out   of   one's   attitude   of   mind.     The   verse 

125 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


Yea,  thou  shalt  search  about  thee,  and  shalt  take 
thy  rest  in  safety. 

19.  Also  thou  shalt  lie  down,  and  none  shall  make 

thee  afraid; 
Yea,  many  shall  make  suit  unto  thee. 

20.  But  the  eyes  of  the  wicked  shall  fail. 
And  ^  they  shall  have  no  way  to  flee. 

And  their  hope  shall  be  the  giving  up  of  the 
ghost. 

6.  Joh^s  Reply  to  Zophar,  Chs.  12-14 

12.  Then  Job  answered  and  said, 

2.  No  doubt  but  ye  are  the  people. 

And  wisdom  shall  die  with  you. 

1  m.  Heb.  refuge  is  perished  from  them. 

draws  a  contrast  to  Job's  gloomy  pictures  of   life  in  7:6  ff.,  9 : 
27  £f.,  and  10 :  21  ff, 

19.  Many  shall  make  suit  unto  thee.  The  weak,  help- 
less, and  hopeless  are  always  appealing  to  the  strong  and 
peaceful  for  aid.  Zophar  declares  that,  if  Job  will  follow  his 
advice.  Job's  Hfe  will  become  so  peaceful  and  strong  that  he  shall 
be  the  recipient  of  such  appeals. 

20.  The  eyes  of  the  wicked  shall  fail.  Like  Bildad  (8:  22), 
Zophar  closes  his  speech  with  a  picture  of  the  punishment 
of  the  wicked.  Unhke  Bildad,  however,  Zophar  implies  that 
Job  may  be  among  those  who  will  be  thus  punished. 

(i)    JoVs  ironical  remarks  on  the  wisdom  of  his  friends,  12  :  1-6 

2.  Job  begins  with  one  of  the  finest  examples  of  irony :  No 
doubt  but  ye  are  the  people.  The  word  "people  "  is  commonly 
taken  to  be  equivalent  to  "everybody."  Some  have  conjectured 
that  the  original  reading  was  "the  men  who  know  "  and  that  by 
the  accidental  erasure  of  two  letters  it  became  "people."  If  we 
could  read : 

"  No  doubt  but  ye  are  they  who  have  knowledge, 
And  wisdom  will  die  with  you," 

we  should  have  a  better  parallelism.     This  certainly  is  the  thought 
even  if  we  keep  the  word  "people,"  which  has  the  support  of  the 

126 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


3.  But  I  have  understanding  as  well  as  you ; 
I  am  not  inferior  to  you : 

Yea,  who  knoweth  not  such  things  as  these  ? 

4.  I  am  as  one  that  is  a  laughing-stock  to  his  neigh- 

bour, 
A  man  that  called  upon  God,  and  he  answered 

him: 
The  just,  the  perfect  man  is  a  laughing-stock. 

5.  In  the  thought  of  him  that  is  at  ease  there  is 

contempt  for  misfortune ; 

MSS.  and  versions,  for  it  would  mean,  "doubtless  you  are  every- 
body —  you  sum  up  the  entire  experience  of  the  race  —  and  when 
you  die  wisdom  will  have  vanished." 

3.  I  am  not  inferior  to  you.  These  words  are  omitted  by 
the  Gr.  Sah.  and  Eth.  As  several  scholars  have  perceived,  they 
have  crept  in  here  from  13  :  2.  If  we  omit  them,  the  verse  becomes 
much  stronger,  reading : 

"But  I  have  understanding  as  well  as  you, 
And  who  knoweth  not  such  things  as  these?  '* 

The  last  clause  continues  the  irony  of  v.  2.  The  boasted  wisdom 
of  the  friends  is  after  all  but  the  common  knowledge  of  mankind. 

4.  I  am  as  one  that  is  a  laughing-stock  to  his  neighbour.  Job 
keenly  feels  the  injustice  of  the  remarks  of  his  friends.  They 
have  so  signally  failed  to  diagnose  his  case  and  to  enter  into  sym- 
pathy with  him  that  he  feels  that  they  are  mocking  him.  This 
is  especially  true  of  Zophar,  who  in  his  address  more  openly  as- 
sumed Job's  guilt  than  either  of  the  previous  speakers  had  done. 
A  man  that  called  upon  God,  and  he  answered  him.  We  might 
better  translate,  "A  man  who  calls  upon  God  and  he  answers 
him."  The  line  is  a  sarcastic  reference  to  Zophar,  the  "  neighbor  " 
referred  to  in  the  previous  line.  Job  had  declared  "If  I  called 
upon  him,  he  would  not  answer  me  "  (9  :  16  emended  text),  and 
he  now  ironically  says  that  the  self-righteous  Zophar  is  "a  man 
that  calls  upon  God  and  he  answers  him."  The  just  and  the 
perfect  man.  This  is  a  reference  to  Job  himself,  and  is  an  asser- 
tion of  his  innocence  against  the  imputations  of  Zophar. 

5.  There  is  contempt  for  misfortune.  The  clause  means  that  the 
prosperous  despise  the  unfortunate,  attributing  their  misfortunes 
to  some  fault  of  their  own.  The  Hebrew  is  difficult  and  the 
poetical  balance  of  the  clauses  imperfect,  but  none  of  the  emenda- 

127 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


It  is  ready  for  them  whose  foot  shppeth. 

6.  The  tents  of  robbers  prosper, 

And  they  that  provoke  God  are  secure ; 

1  Into  whose  hand  God  bringeth  abundantly. 

7.  But  ask  now  the  beasts,  and  they  shall  teach  thee ; 
And  the  fowls  of  the  air,  and  they  shall  tell  thee  : 

8.  Or  speak  to  the  earth,  and  it  shall  teach  thee ; 


m.  Or,  TItat  bring  their  god  in  their  hand. 


tions  proposed  are  improvements.  It  is  ready  for  them  whose 
foot  slippeth.  In  Job's  time,  as  now,  the  world  was  ready  to  kick 
a  man  when  he  is  down. 

6.  The  tents  of  robbers  prosper,  or  "are  at  ease."  Job,  in 
his  consciousness  of  innocence,  is  led  to  color  his  reply  by  his 
resentment  of  Zophar's  criticism.  In  denial  of  Zophar's  doctrine 
of  rewards  and  punishments,  Job  declares  that  it  is  the 

"Tents  of  the  wicked  that  are  at  ease, 
And  they  that  provoke  God  are  secure." 

Into  whose  hand  God  bringeth  abundantly.  We  should  read  with 
the  margin,  "That  bringeth  their  god  in  their  hand,"  i.e.  who 
worship  their  own  power.  For  a  similar  assertion  cf.  Hab. 
I :  II  with  Hab.  i  :  16. 

(2)    All  creation  testifies  to  God's  almighty  sway,  12  :  7-12 

7.  But  ask  now  the  beasts,  and  they  shall  teach  thee.  Such 
rudimentary  wisdom  as  the  friends  have  been  uttering  is,  Job 
declares,  not  the  property  of  men  only,  but  even  of  animals. 
The  passage  is  poetry,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  an- 
cients did  not  draw  as  sharp  a  line  between  the  animal  and  the 
human  intelligence  as  we  do.  This  verse  and  the  next  are  quoted 
in  the  fragment  of  "Sayings  of  Jesus,"  found  at  Oxyrhynchus  in 
Egypt  in  1903.  See  Grenfell  and  Hunt,  New  Sayings  of  Jesus, 
Oxford  University  Press,  1904,  p.  15. 

8.  Or  speak  to  the  earth,  and  it  shall  teach  thee.  Although  this 
reading  is  supported  by  all  the  versions,  it  is  the  almost  unani- 
mous opinion  of  recent  commentators  that  some  word  has  fallen 
out  of  the  text.  After  asking  the  "beasts  "  and  "birds  "  in  v.  7 
and  before  asking  the  "fishes"  in  the  last  clause  of  this  verse, 
one  would  expect  a  reference  to  reptiles ;  and  it  is  probable  that 
the  original  text  read  "creeping  things  of  the  earth,"  and  that 
the  word  for  "creeping  things  "  was  accidentally  omitted  in  an 

128 


THE   BOOK   OF  JOB 


And  the  fishes  of  the  sea  shall  declare  unto  thee. 
9.  Who  knoweth  not  ^  in  all  these, 

That  the  hand  of  the  Lord  hath  wrought  this  ? 

10.  In  whose  hand  is  the  soul  of  every  Hving  thing, 
And  the  ^  breath  of  all  mankind. 

11.  Doth  not  the  ear  try  words, 

Even  as  the  palate  tasteth  its  meat  ? 

12.  ^  With  aged  men  is  wisdom, 

And  in  length  of  days  understanding. 

1  m.  Or,  hy.  2  qj.  Qr,  spirit.  '  m.  Or,  with  aged  men,  ye  say,  is  wisdom. 

early  copy.  This  difficulty  was  felt  in  the  "  Sayings  of  Jesus " 
just  referred  to,  for  it  makes  the  clause  read  "the  beasts  which  are 
under  the  earth  and  upon  the  earth."  At  all  events  the  "earth  " 
cannot  speak,  and  if  we  supply  "creeping  things  "  we  obtain  the 
four  classes  of  the  brute  creation  mentioned  in  Gen.  i. 

9.  Who  knoweth  not  in  all  these.  If  we  keep  the  reading 
"in,"  the  question  means,  "Who  among  all  these  animals  does  not 
know?"  If  with  the  margin  we  read  "by,"  it  means  "Who 
is  so  ignorant  as  not  to  know  by  all  these  examples?  "  Compare 
Isa.  41  :  20.  Hath  wrought  this.  I.e.  this  work  that  you  refer  to. 
Job  apparently  says,  "  Who  is  so  ignorant,  Zophar,  as  not  to  know 
that  God  does  such  things  as  you  say?  " 

10.  In  whose  hand  is  the  soul  of  every  living  thing.  This 
verse  completes  the  thought  of  v,  g.  Zophar's  remarks  simply 
amount  to  this,  that  God  is  the  absolute  sovereign  of  all.  To 
Job  such  a  thought  is  an  axiom  so  self-evident  as  to  be  unworthy 
of  mention. 

11.  Doth  not  the  ear  try  words ?  The  verse  is,  like  Luke  12  :  57, 
an  assertion  of  the  inherent  ability  and  right  of  the  individual 
to  discriminate  between  the  false  and  true  in  what  he  hears. 
Job  asserts  this  right  in  view  of  the  doctrine  from  the  ancients 
which  his  friends  were  forcing  upon  him. 

12.  With  aged  men  is  wisdom.  This  cannot  represent  Job's 
own  opinion,  as  it  is  inconsistent  with  the  preceding  verse.  The 
margin  suggests  the  insertion  of  "ye  say,"  making  it  the  opinion 
of  the  friends.     It  is  simpler  to  read  the  verse  as  a  question, 

"Is  wisdom  with  aged  men. 
And  understanding  in  length  of  days?  " 

The  positive  question  is  rhetorically  equivalent  to  a  negative 

assertion. 

K  129 


THE  BOOK   OF   JOB 


13.  With  him  is  wisdom  and  might ; 
He  hath  counsel  and  understanding. 

14.  Behold,  he  breaketh  down,  and  ^  it  cannot  be 

built  again ; 
He  shutteth  up  a  man,  and  there  can  be  no 
opening. 

15.  Behold,  he  withholdeth  the  waters,  and  they  dry 

up; 
Again,  he  sendeth  them  out,  and  they  overturn 
the  earth. 

16.  With  him  is  strength  and  ^  effectual  working ; 
The  deceived  and  the  deceiver  are  his. 

1  m.  Gr.  Syr.  OLat.  Sah.  Ar.  Eth.  who  shall  build  up?  '  m.  Or,  sound  wisdom. 

(3)    None  can  resist  God's  might,  12  :  13-25 

13.  With  him  is  wisdom  and  might.  I.e.  with  God,  In  con- 
trast to  the  lack  of  wisdom  among  men  implied  in  the  preceding 
question  Job  asserts  that  wisdom  in  all  its  varieties  and  might  belongs 
to  God. 

14.  And  it  cannot  be  built  again.  We  should  read  with  the 
versions  cited  above,  "who  shall  build  it  up?  "  Again  the  posi- 
tive question  is  equivalent  to  a  negative  assertion.  While  Job 
acknowledges  God's  wisdom,  he  insists  in  this  and  the  following 
verses  especially  upon  God's  absolute  power.  This  insistence 
Job  does  not  mean  altogether  as  praise.  In  his  present  mood 
it  is  one  of  the  sore  points  with  him,  that  God  exercises  this  abso- 
lute power  in  a  way  that  seems  to  Job  arbitrary. 

15.  Behold,  he  withholdeth  the  waters.  Droughts  and  floods 
seem  to  Job  exhibitions  of  the  arbitrary  power  of  God.  He 
apparently  felt  that  these  occurrences  were  proofs  that  God  knew 
how  to  do  such  things,  but  that  a  moderate  continuous  water 
supply  would  be  more  intelligible  to  man's  understanding. 

16.  Effectual  working.  The  phrase  means,  perhaps,  "abiding 
success,"  see  note  on  5  :  12.  Job  means  that  God  has  power, 
and  continually  succeeds  in  achieving  his  ends.  The  deceived 
and  the  deceiver  are  his.  I.e.  God  is  responsible  for  them  both. 
This  is  the  point  of  view  of  the  Hebrew  prophets.  Amos  says : 
"Shall  evil  befall  a  city,  and  the  Lord  hath  not  done  it?  "  (3  :  6), 
and  the  Second  Isaiah,  "I  make  peace  and  create  evil;  I  am  the 
Lord,  that  doeth  all  these  things  "  (Isa.  45  :  7). 

130 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB  12:22 


17.  He  leadeth  counsellors  away  spoiled, 
And  judges  maketh  he  fools. 

18.  He  loose th  the  bond  of  kings, 

And  bindeth  their  loins  with  a  girdle. 

19.  He  leadeth  priests  away  spoiled, 
And  overthroweth  the  mighty. 

20.  He  removeth  the  speech  of  the  trusty, 

And  taketh  away  the  understanding  of  the  elders. 

21.  He  poureth  contempt  upon  princes. 
And  looseth  the  belt  of  the  strong. 

22.  He  discovereth  deep  things  out  of  darkness, 


17.  He  leadeth  counsellors  away  spoiled.  The  thought  of  the 
verse  is  that  God  outwits  the  wisdom  of  crafty  counsellors,  and 
makes  the  insight  of  the  most  astute  judges  appear  foolish.  The 
parallelism  between  the  two  parts  of  the  verse  is  not  close  and  the 
first  line  is  suspiciously  like  the  beginning  of  v.  19.  This  has  led 
some  scholars  to  emend  the  text  to  "He  makes  foolish  the  coun- 
sellors of  the  earth."  As  the  versions  support  the  present  text 
with  great  unanimity,  there  does  not  seem  sufficient  warrant  for 
so  drastic  a  change. 

18.  He  looseth  the  bond  of  kings.  I.e.  the  bond  imposed  by 
kings ;  he  frees  their  prisoners,  liberates  the  captives  they  have 
taken  in  war,  or  exempts  provinces  from  taxes  which  they  have 
imposed  by  dissolving  the  power  of  the  kings  themselves.  With 
a  girdle.  Since  to  bind  with  a  girdle  is  usually  a  synonym  for 
strength,  and  such  an  idea  is  out  of  harmony  with  the  context 
here,  we  should  with  several  scholars  change  one  letter  of  the 
Hebrew  and  read  "with  a  fetter."  The  thought  would  then  be, 
"He  brings  the  kings  themselves  into  bondage." 

19.  He  leadeth  priests  away  spoiled.  Priests  were  an  impor- 
tant and  powerful  order  in  ancient  Israel,  and  in  older  civiliza- 
tions, like  those  of  Egypt  and  Babylonia,  they  were  still  more 
important,  sometimes  stepping  from  the  priesthood  to  the  throne. 
It  is  quite  natural,  therefore,  that  they  should  be  mentioned  in 
this  connection. 

20.  Speech  of  the  trusty.  Sagacious  and  eloquent  men,  such 
as  propose  measures  and  persuade  a  people  to  carry  them  out, 

2 1 .  He  poureth  contempt  upon  princes.     Quoted  in  Ps.  107  :  40. 

22.  He  discovereth  deep  things  out  of  darkness.  The  verse 
apparently  means  that  there  is  no  secret  so  deeply  hidden  that 

131 


THE  BOOK   OF   JOB 


And  bringeth  out  to  light  the  shadow  of  death. 

23.  He  increaseth  the  nations,  and  destroyeth  them : 

He  spreadeth  the  nations  abroad,  and  ^  bringeth  them  in. 

24.  He  taketh  away  the  heart  of  the  chiefs  of  the  ^  people 

of  the  ^  earth. 
And  causeth  them  to  wander  in   a  wilderness  where 
there  is  no  way. 

25.  They  grope  in  the  dark  without  light, 

And  he  maketh  them  to  ^  stagger  like  a  drunken  man. 
13.   Lo,  mine  eye  hath  seen  ^  all  this, 

1  m.  Or,  leadeth  them  away.  ^  Gr.  Syr.-Hex.  Sah.  Eth.  omit  people.  *  m.  Or, 
land.  *  m.  Heb.  wander.  ^  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  these;  12  Heb.  MSS.  i  Gr.  MSS.  OLat. 
Vulg.  Syr.  Ar.  all  these. 

God  cannot  penetrate  it  —  no  darkness  so  deep  but  that  he  can 
see  through  it. 

23.  He  increaseth  the  nations,  and  destroyeth  them.  The 
rise  and  fall  of  nations  constitute  one  of  the  mysteries  of  history. 
It  fascinated  our  poet  as  it  has  many  others.  He  declares  this  to 
be  explicable  only  as  a  manifestation  of  God's  sovereign  purpose. 

24.  He  taketh  away  the  heart.  The  heart  here,  as  often  in  the 
Old  Testament,  stands  for  the  intellect.  Chiefs  of  the  people  of 
the  earth.  With  the  authorities  cited  above  we  should  read, 
"chiefs  of  the  land."  The  verse  continues  the  thought  of  the 
preceding.  One  of  the  causes  why  nations  are  destroyed  is  the 
folly  of  their  rulers.  That  such  folly  could  exist  was  due,  this 
monotheist  declares,  to  the  will  of  God.  Wander  in  a  wilderness. 
The  word  rendered  "wilderness"  means  rather  "chaos."  It 
is  the  word  rendered  "waste  "  in  Gen.  1:2.  It  is  equivalent  to 
saying,  "He  causeth  them  to  wander  in  utter  confusion."  This 
half  verse  is  quoted  in  Ps.  107  :  40. 

28.  He  maketh  them  to  stagger.  As  the  margin  shows,  the  word 
is  the  same  that  was  in  the  preceding  verse  rendered  "wander." 
Their  activity  continues,  but  it  is  without  purpose  or  effective- 
ness. The  comparison  to  a  drunken  man  is  used  in  Ps.  107  :  27, 
but  there  with  a  verb  which  properly  means  stagger. 

(4)  J  oh  holds  his  own  attitude  toward  God's  government  to  be  better 
than  that  of  his  friends,  13  :  1-12 
I.   Mine  eye  hath  seen  all  this.     From  the  general  descrip- 
tion of  the  intelligence  and  power  manifested  in  God's  works,  Job 

132 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


Mine  ear  hath  heard  and  understood  it. 

2.  What  ye  know,  the  same  do  I  know  also : 
^  I  am  not  inferior  unto  you. 

3.  Surely  I  would  speak  to  the  Almighty, 
And  I  desire  to  reason  with  God. 

4.  But  ye  are  forgers  of  lies, 

2  Ye  are  all  physicians  of  no  value. 

5.  Oh  that  ye  would  altogether  hold  your  peace ! 
And  it  should  be  your  wisdom. 

6.  Hear  now  ^  my  reasoning, 

1  Gr.  Sym.  Syr.  Sah.  Eth.  Targ.  Ar.  And  I  ant  not.    2  Gr.  Syr.  Sym.  Sah.  Vulg.  Targ. 
Eth.  Ar.  And  ye.        ^  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  the  argument  of  my  mouth. 

passes  to  an  assertion  of  his  own  knowledge  of  them  and  attitude 
toward  them. 

2.  What  ye  know,  the  same  do  I  know.  Job  regards  the  air  of 
superiority  which  his  friends  have  assumed  as  entirely  out  of 
place. 

3.  Surely  I  would  speak  to  the  Almighty.  Instead  of  "surely," 
we  should  translate,  "But  I  would  speak  to  the  Almighty." 
Although  Job  knows  God's  might  and  the  marvels  of  God's  works 
as  well  as  his  friends,  he  persists  that  it  is  with  God  that  he  wishes 
to  speak  and  not  with  these  self-appointed  advocates. 

4.  Forgers  of  lies.  The  word  rendered  "forgers  "  is  literally 
"plasterers."  Probably  the  meaning  is  that  the  friends  seek 
by  their  false  statements  to  smear  over  and  cover  up  the  real 
nature  of  life  and  of  God's  government  of  the  world.  Physicians 
of  no  value.  The  friends  sought  to  act  as  healers  of  Job's  spirit- 
ual ills,  but  they  had  proven  so  clumsy  and  short-sighted  in  their 
diagnosis  of  his  troubles  that  he  declares  that  they  have  no  value 
as  healers. 

5.  Hold  your  peace  ...  it  should  be  your  wisdom.  The 
friends  have  spoken  volubly  of  wisdom,  but  Job  apparently  re- 
gards all  that  they  have  said  as  an  exhibition  of  folly.  His 
remark  here  suggests  the  proverb  : 

"Even  a  fool,  when  he  holdeth  his  peace,  is  counted  wise; 
When  he  shutteth  his  lips,  he  is  esteemed  as  prudent." 

(Pr.  17:28.) 

6.  My  reasoning.  We  should  read  with  the  versions  cited 
above,  "the  argument  of  my  mouth."  This  makes  a  perfect 
parallelism  between  the  two  parts  of  the  verse. 

133 


THE  BOOK  OF   JOB 


And  hearken  to  the  pleadings  of  my  lips. 

7.  Will  ye  speak  unrighteously  for  God, 
And  talk  deceitfully  for  him  ? 

8.  Will  ye  ^  respect  his  person  ? 
Will  ye  contend  for  God  ? 

9.  Is  it  good  that  he  should  search  you  out  ? 

Or  as  one  ^  deceiveth  a  man,  will  ye  ^  deceive 
him? 

10.  He  will  surely  reprove  you, 

If  ye  do  secretly  ^  respect  persons. 

11.  Shall  not  ^  his  excellency  make  you  afraid, 

*  m.  Or,  shew  him  favour.        *  m.  Or,  mocketh.        '  m.  Or,  mock.         *  m.  Or,  shew 
favour.  Sym.  Syr.  Vulg.  Targ.  Ar.  respect  his  person  or  show  him  favor.  ^  Gr.  Sym. 

Syr.  Sah.  Vulg.  Ar.  Eth.  his  devastation. 

7.  Speak  unrighteously  for  God.  The  verse  explains  the 
meaning  of  v.  4. 

8.  Will  ye  respect  his  person  ?  The  phrase  is  one  that  is  used 
of  judges  who  pervert  judgment  in  favor  of  those  who  can  make 
it  of  financial  advantage  to  the  judge.  Job  regards  the  question 
between  him  and  God  as  a  question  of  fairness  and  justice.  It 
seems  to  him  that  a  fair-minded  person  could  give  a  verdict  only 
in  one  way,  but  because  God  is  so  great  and  all-powerful  he  hints 
that  the  friends  will  curry  favor  with  him  by  urging  that  which 
violates  their  own  estimates  of  what  is  just.  Contend  for  God. 
The  word  in  the  Hebrew  which  corresponds  to  "contend  "  is  the 
one  employed  to  designate  a  special  plea  as  in  a  court  of  law. 
The  idea  is  "Will  you  become  special  pleaders  for  God?  " 

9.  Is  it  good?  That  is,  will  it  be  good  for  you,  to  have  God 
search  you  out  and  unmask  your  pretended  reverence,  which  is 
only  sycophancy.  As  one  deceiveth  a  man,  will  ye  deceive 
him?  We  should  read  as  in  the  margin  "mocketh."  A  man 
can  be  fooled  by  flattery,  but  such  deception  is  really  a  mockery 
of  his  manhood.  Will  you  thus  mock  God,  Job  asks.  The  ques- 
tion implies,  of  course,  that  God  cannot  thus  be  mocked. 

10.  If  ye  do  secretly  respect  persons.  We  should  read  with 
the  versions  cited  above,  "respect  his  person."  Job  declares  that 
God's  love  of  justice  is  so  great  that  he  will  reprove  partiality 
shown  even  to  himself. 

11.  His  excellency.  We  should  read  with  the  versions  cited 
above,  "his  devastation."     The  reference  is  to  such  works  of  God 

134 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB  13: 


And  his  dread  fall  upon  you  ? 

12.  Your  memorable  sayings  are  proverbs  of  ashes, 
Your  defences  are  defences  of  clay. 

13.  Hold  your  peace,  ^  let  me  alone,  that  I  may  speak, 
And  let  come  on  me  what  will. 

14.  ^  Wherefore  should  I  take  my  flesh  in  my  teeth, 
And  put  my  life  in  mine  ^  hand  ? 

15.  ^  Though  he  slay  me,  yet  will  I  wait  for  him  : 

1  Gr.  Vulg.  Sah.  Eth.  omit  let  me  alone.  2  m.  Qr,  At  all  adventures  I  will  take  &•€. 
»  5  Heb.  MSS.  I  Gr.  MS.  Syr.  Vulg.  Eth.  hands.  *  m.  Or,  Behold  he  will  slay  me;  I 
wait  for  him,  or,  according  to  another  reading,  /  will  not  wait,  or,  /  have  no  hope. 

as  Job  has  described  in  12:  17-25.  Job  was  greatly  impressed 
with  the  terrors  of  God.  In  his  longing  to  come  face  to  face  with 
God  he  begged  that  God's  more  awful  aspects  might  not  over- 
come him,  see  below,  v.  21  and  9:34.  Even  in  modern  times 
something  of  the  ancient  point  of  view  finds  expression  in  the 
lines : 

"  God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way 

His  wonders  to  perform, 

He  plants  his  footsteps  in  the  sea 

And  rides  upon  the  storm." 

Make  you  afraid.  Job  wonders  that  in  the  danger  of  exciting 
God's  terrors  his  friends  can  dare  to  be  so  insincere. 

12.  Memorable  sayings.  The  traditional  maxims  with  which 
they  had  tried  to  silence  Job.  Proverbs  of  ashes.  These  sayings 
are  so  out  of  touch  with  reality,  that  Job  declares  that  they  are 
like  the  ashes  of  burnt  wood  or  the  dust  of  the  dead.  Like  the  world 
in  which  they  seemed  to  be  true,  there  is  no  life  in  them. 

(5)    Job  will  speak  his  mind  to  God,  13  :  13-22 

13.  Let  me  alone.  Several  versions,  as  cited  above,  omit  these 
words,  and  the  poetry  is  improved  by  their  omission.  Let  come 
on  me  what  will.  Job's  mood  again  becomes  desperate,  and 
as  in  9 :  19  £f.  he  throws  prudence  to  the  winds  and  speaks  out  his 
mind. 

14.  Wherefore  should  I  take?  We  should  read  with  the  mar- 
gin, **At  all  adventures  I  will  take."  The  verse  expresses  in 
another  way  Job's  fixed  resolution  to  speak  out  regardless  of 
consequences. 

15.  Though  he  slay  me.  The  Hebrew  does  not  mean  this. 
We  should  read  with  the  margin,  "  Behold  he  will  slay  me."     Yet 

135 


13  :  i6  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


Nevertheless  I  will  ^  maintain  my  ways  before 
him. 

1 6.  ^  This  also  shall  be  my  salvation ; 

3  For  a  godless  man  shall  not  come  before  him. 

17.  Hear  diligently  my  speech, 

And  ^  let  my  declaration  be  in  your  ears. 

18.  Behold  now,  I  have  ordered  my  cause ; 
I  know  that  I  ^  am  righteous. 

19.  Who  is  he  that  will  contend  with  me  ? 

For    now  ®  shall  I  hold  my  peace  and  give  up 
the  ghost. 


1  m.  Heb.  argue.  2  m.  Or,  He.  ^  m.  Or,  That.  *  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  /  wili 

make  a  declaration.  *  m.  Or,  shall  be  justified.  *  m.  Or,  if  I  hold  my  peace,  I 

shall  give  up  &'c. 

will  I  wait  for  him.  The  context  requires  that  we  read  with  the 
second  suggestion  of  the  margin,  "I  have  no  hope."  The  verse 
is  a  further  statement  of  Job's  reckless  determination  to  speak 
regardless  of  consequences.  He  has  no  hope  that  God  will  not 
crush  him  like  a  moth,  but  nevertheless  he  will  give  a  defence  of 
himself  and  his  course  in  life. 

16.  This  also  shall  be  my  salvation.  In  spite  of  all  of  Job's 
sorrow  and  suffering  and  in  spite  of  all  the  harsh  things  which 
in  some  moods  he  says  about  God,  his  faith  in  the  unswerving 
justice  of  God  remains.  Even  conduct  which  the  orthodoxy 
of  the  day  regarded  as  blasphemous  would  contribute  to  his 
salvation,  he  believed,  because  God  is  the  God  of  truth  and  sin- 
cerity. This  sublime  confidence  in  the  unswerving  fairness  of 
God  is  one  of  the  fine  touches  of  the  poem. 

18.  I  know  that  I  am  righteous.  We  should  read  with  the 
margin,  "I  know  that  I  shall  be  justified."  Job  has  declared  his 
readiness  to  plead  his  case  against  God.  He  is  ready  with  his 
arguments,  and  expresses  his  confidence  that  he  will  be  justified. 

19.  Who  is  he  that  will  contend  with  me?^  The  question 
means,  "Is  there  any  one  that  will  contest  my  righteousness?  " 
As  in  Isa.  50 :  8  it  is  asked  in  the  firm  confidence  that  there  is  no 
one  who  can  do  so.  For  now  I  should  hold  my  peace.  Neither 
the  text  nor  the  margin  gives  the  exact  idea.  Job  says,  "For 
then  I  should  hold  my  peace  and  die,"  i.e.  if  any  one  should 
appear  to  argue  against  me. 

136 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


20.  Only  do  not  two  things  unto  me, 

Then  will  I  not  hide  myself  from  thy  face : 

21.  Withdraw  thine  hand  far  from  me ;  h  . 
And  let  not  thy  terror  make  me  afraid. 

22.  Then  call  thou,  and  I  will  answer; 
Or  let  me  speak,  and  answer  thou  me. 

23.  How  many  are  mine  iniquities  and  sins  ? 

Make  me  to  know  ^  my  transgression  and  my  sin. 

24.  Wherefore  hidest  thou  thy  face. 
And  holdest  me  for  thine  enemy  ? 


1  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  what  they  are. 


20.  Only  do  not  two  things  unto  me.  The  two  things  are  speci- 
fied in  the  following  verses,  and  are  identical  with  those  mentioned 
in  9  :  34. 

21.  Withdraw  thine  hand  far  from  me.  A  synonym  for, 
"Let  him  take  his  rod  away  from  me  "  (9  :  34).  The  last  half  of 
the  verse  is  identical  with  the  last  half  of  9 :  34. 

22.  Then  call  thou,  and  I  will  answer.  Freed  from  the  over- 
mastering terror  of  the  omnipotence  of  God,  Job  believes  that 
he  could  answer  any  plea  that  God  could  make  against  him,  or, 
as  the  last  clause  of  the  verse  shows,  put  in  a  plea  for  God  to 
answer. 

(6)    Joh  asks  with  what  sins  he  is  charged,  13  :  23-28 

23.  How  many  are  mine  iniquities  and  sins?  All  recent  com- 
mentators have  noticed  that  the  diction  of  the  verse  is  bad. 
The  word  "sin  "  comes  into  each  half  of  it  in  a  way  far  more 
offensive  to  the  ear  in  the  Hebrew  than  in  English.  The  versions 
cited  above  omit  two  of  the  words  for  transgression,  and  suggest 
that  the  verse  read  originally  : 

"How  great  is  my  transgression? 
And  my  sin  —  make  me  know  it." 

This  is  the  beginning  of  Job's  plea  or  defence  of  himself. 

24.  Wherefore  hidest  thou  thy  face?  The  verse  refers  to 
God's  general  treatment  of  Job  in  his  aflflictions.  It  was  the  be- 
lief of  the  time  that  God  hid  his  face  from  those  who  sinned, 
and  that  he  punished  them  as  enemies.  Job  is  conscious  that  he 
has  not  sinned.     The  friends  are  sure  that  he  has  or  he  would  not 

137 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


25.  Wilt  thou  harass  a  driven  leaf  ? 

^  And  wilt  thou  pursue  the  dry  stubble  ? 

26.  For  thou  writest  bitter  things  against  me, 

And  makest  me  to  inherit  the  iniquities  of  my 
youth : 

27.  Thou  puttest  my  feet  also  in  the  stocks,  and 

markest  all  my  paths ; 
Thou  drawest  thee  a  line  about  the  soles  of  my 
feet: 

1  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Ar.  Eth.  Or. 

be  subjected  to  such  suffering.  Puzzled  by  the  situation,  Job 
asks  in  v.  23  how  great  his  sin  is,  and  in  this  verse,  why  it  is  that 
God  has  hidden  his  face. 

25.  A  driven  leaf  .  .  .  dry  stubble.  These  are  emblems  of 
Job's  insignificance  as  compared  with  God.  He  wonders  that 
God  should  take  the  trouble  to  buffet  anything  so  small. 

26.  Thou  writest  bitter  things.  Another  way  of  saying, "  Thou 
prescribest  bitter  things";  compare  Isa.  10:  i,  and  Hos.  8:  12. 
Iniquities  of  my  youth.  Job  acknowledges  that  in  the  ardor  and 
inexperience  of  youth  he  had  done  wrong,  though  he  is  conscious 
of  no  sin  in  manhood.  Such  sins  on  the  part  of  youth  men  are  apt 
to  condone.  Job  regards  God's  treatment  of  him  as  especially 
severe  because  he  supposes  that  these  sins  of  thoughtless  inex- 
perience are  remembered.  In  no  other  way  can  he  account  for 
his  present  calamities. 

27.  Puttest  my  feet  in  the  stocks.  If  "stocks  "  is  to  be  taken 
in  the  ordinary  sense,  the  statements  contained  in  the  rest  of  the 
verse  would  be  meaningless,  unless  it  refers  to  a  different  time, 
which  is  improbable.  "Stocks,"  which  is  in  Hebrew  in  the  sin- 
gular, probably  refers  to  a  block  of  wood  chained  to  a  captive's 
foot  to  impede  his  movements.  Markest  all  my  paths.  I.e. 
prescribest  the  limits  of  my  movements  and  watchest  me  Hke  a 
prisoner  to  see  that  I  do  not  overstep  them.  Soles  of  my  feet. 
As  the  line  stands  it  is  a  synonym  of  the  preceding  phrase.  The 
Hebrew  is  literally,  "the  roots  of  my  feet"  —  a  very  unusual 
expression.  Commentators  have  suggested  many  emendations 
to  make  the  text  accord  with  more  ordinary  ways  of  saying 
things,  but  as  the  present  reading  is  a  possible  metaphor  for  a 
poet,  and  is  supported  by  the  versions,  it  seems  better  to  let  it 
stand. 

138 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


28.  ^  Though  I  am  like  a  rotten  thing  that  consumeth, 

Like  a  garment  that  is  moth-eaten. 

14.  Man  that  is  born  of  a  woman 

Is  of  few  days,  and  full  of  trouble. 

2.  He  2  Cometh  forth  like  a  flower,  and  ^  is  cut  down : 
He  fleeth  also  as  a  shadow,  and  continueth  not. 

3.  And  dost  thou  open  thine  eyes  upon  such  an  one, 
And  bringest  ^  me  into  judgement  with  thee  ? 

4.  ^  Who  can  bring  a  clean  thing  out  of  an  unclean? 

not  one. 

1  m.  Heb.  And  he  is  like.        2  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  springeth  up.        » m.  Ot„  wither' 
eth.    Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  falleth.  *  Gr.  Syr.  Vulg.  Sah.  Eth.  Ar.  him.  «  m.  Or, 

Oh  that  a  dean  thing  could  come  out  of  an  unclean/  not  one  can.    i  Heb.  MS.  omits  the 


28.  Though  I  am  like.  The  Hebrew,  as  the  margin  suggests, 
is,  "And  he  (or  it)  is  like."  This  makes  no  sense  where  it  stands. 
The  verse  has  probably  been  accidentally  misplaced.  If  we  insert 
it  after  14:  2,  we  gain  an  excellent  meaning  for  it,  and  also 
relieve  the  situation  here. 

(7)    The  brevity  of  man's  days,  14 :  1-6 

1.  Bom  of  woman.  Orientals  regard  woman  as  the  frailer 
and  weaker  vessel.  Hebrews  believed  that  sin  and  death  entered 
the  world  through  her  (cf.  Gen.  3  :  16  and  Ecclus.  25  :  24).  The 
thought  recurs  in  Job  in  15  :  14  and  25  :  4.  The  phrase  is 
introduced  here  as  a  partial  explanation  of  the  brevity  and  trouble 
of  human  life. 

2.  He  Cometh  forth  like  a  flower.  We  should  with  the  ver- 
sions cited  above  read,  "He  springeth  up  like  a  flower."  Human 
life  in  its  bright  promise  and  its  tragic  end  is  likened  to  the  rapid 
growth  of  a  bright  flower,  which  is  soon  cut  oflf.  As  noted  above, 
13  :  28  probably  belongs  here.     If  so,  the  comparison  went  on : 

"He  wastes  away  like  a  rotten  thing, 
Like  a  garment  that  is  moth-eaten." 

3.  Upon  such  an  one.  It  seems  strange  to  Job  that  the  eternal 
God  should  so  closely  watch  one  so  frail.  Bringest  me  into 
judgement.  We  should  read  with  the  versions  cited,  "bringest 
him  into  judgment,"  i.e.  frail  man.  While  Job  has  himself  in 
mind,  he  keeps  up  the  figure. 

4.  Who  can  bring  a  clean  thing  out  of  an  unclean  ?     We  should 

139 


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5.  Seeing  his  days  are  determined,  the  number  of 

his  months  is  with  thee, 
And  thou  hast  appointed  his  bounds  that  he 
cannot  pass ; 

6.  Look  away  from  him,  that  he  may  ^  rest, 

Till  he  shall  ^  accomplish,  as  an  hireling,  his  day. 

7.  For  there  is  hope  of  a  tree,  if  it  be  cut  down, 

that  it  will  sprout  again. 
And  that  the  tender  branch  thereof  will  not  cease. 

1  m.  Heb.  cease.  *  m.  Or,  have  pleasure  in. 

read  as  in  the  margin,  "Oh  that  a  clean  thing  could  come  out  of 
an  unclean  !  not  one  can."  It  is  impossible  to  connect  the  verse 
with  its  context.  It  is  no  doubt  the  sigh  of  a  pious  reader  which 
was  scribbled  on  the  margin  and  afterward  copied  into  the  text. 
With  the  MS.  noted  above  and  several  modern  commentators, 
we  omit  it. 

5.  Seeing  his  days  are  determined.  This  connects  directly 
with  V.  3.  Job  wonders  that  God  should  watch  man  so  carefully 
or  care  what  he  does,  for  man's  days  are  determined,  the  bounds 
of  his  activity  are  set,  and  what  can  he  do  to  God? 

6.  Look  away  from  him  that  he  may  rest.  To  the  inevitable 
agonies  of  life  there  is  added,  Job  feels,  the  torture  of  being 
watched  by  God.  Cf.  for  the  thought  Ps.  39  :  13.  Accomplish 
as  an  hireling  his  day.  For  "accomplish"  we  should  read,  as 
in  the  margin,  "take  pleasure  in."  The  hireling  has  a  hard  and 
lonely  lot.  His  master  cares  only  to  get  from  him  all  the  work  he 
can  for  his  wages ;  there  is  no  personal  bond  of  affection.  If  he 
is  not  watched  by  the  taskmaster,  however,  the  hireling  can 
loiter  along  and  get  some  little  pleasure.  Such  enjoyment  Job 
thinks  God  ought  not  to  begrudge  man  in  this  work-a-day  world. 

(8)    Trees  are  more  immortal  than  men,  14  :  7-12 

7.  There  is  hope  of  a  tree.  The  reason  for  this  hope  follows. 
If  it  be  cut  down,  that  it  will  sprout  again.  It  is  still  the  custom 
near  Damascus  to  cut  down  old  fig  trees,  walnut  and  pomegranate 
trees,  and  vines,  and  let  the  roots  sprout  again.  This  custom 
gives  to  the  tree  a  kind  of  immortality.  Job  had  compared  man 
to  a  flower.  Perhaps  he  means  to  suggest  here  that  in  justice 
man  ought  to  share  the  immortality  of  the  vegetable  world  as 
he  shares  its  brevity  of  life. 

140 


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8.  Though  the  root  thereof  wax  old  in  the  earth, 
And  the  stock  thereof  die  in  the  ground ; 

9.  Yet  through  the  scent  of  water  it  will  bud, 
And  put  forth  boughs  like  a  plant. 

10.  But  man  dieth,  and  ^  wasteth  away : 

Yea,  man  giveth  up  the  ghost,  ^  and  where  is  he  ? 

11.  ^  As  the  waters  ^  fail  from  the  sea, 
And  the  river  decayeth  and  drieth  up ; 

12.  So  man  lieth  down  and  riseth  not : 

Till   the  heavens  be   no   more,   they   shall   not 

awake. 
Nor  be  roused  out  of  their  sleep. 

1  m.  Or,  lieth  low.  2  j  Heb.  MS.  Gr.  OLat.  Syr.  Sah.  Eth,  Ar.  and  is  no  more. 

«  m.  See  Isa.  19 :  5.  *  m.  Heb.  are  gone. 

9.  Like  a  plant.     That  is,  like  a  fresh  new  plant. 

10.  Wasteth  away.  Not  even  the  margin  gives  the  exact 
shade  of  thought  of  the  Hebrew.  We  should  render,  "Man 
dieth  and  falleth  prostrate."  The  comparison  with  the  tree  is 
continued.  And  where  is  he  ?  We  should  read  with  the  versions 
cited  above,  "and  is  no  more."  It  is  a  part  of  the  running  com- 
parison with  the  tree.  If  the  tree  is  cut  down,  its  root  sprouts, 
but  Job  declares : 

"  Man  dieth  and  falleth  prostrate. 
Yea  he  giveth  up  the  ghost  and  is  no  more." 

The  striking  contrast  intensifies  the  hard  lot  of  mankind. 

11.  Waters  fail  from  the  sea.  "Sea  "  is  used  as  in  Arabic  of 
an  inland  lake  or  pool  or  even  a  large  laver  (i  Kgs.  7  :  23  ff.), 
as  well  as  of  a  real  sea.  Here  it  has  this  limited  meaning.  Com- 
parison has  often  been  made,  as  the  margin  indicates,  with  Isa. 
19  :  5,  where  we  have  almost  the  same  words  applied  to  the  Nile, 
and  several  scholars  think  the  words  have  been  introduced  into 
the  text  of  Job  from  that  passage.  The  words  are  in  a  much  more 
natural  context  here  than  in  Isaiah,  and,  if  there  has  been  any  bor- 
rowing, it  was  probably  on  the  part  of  the  other  writer.  River 
decayeth.  The  word  "river"  is  also  used  figuratively  for  the 
Palestinian  streams  which  dry  up  in  summer. 

12.  Till  the  heavens  bene  more.  That  is,  never.  The  heav- 
ens were  regarded  as  eternal,  see  Ps.  89  :  29. 

141 


14  :  13  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


13.  Oh  that  thou  wouldest  hide  me  in  ^  Sheol, 

That  thou  wouldest  keep  me  secret,  until  thy 

wrath  be  past, 
That  thou  wouldest  appoint  me  a  set  time,  and 

remember  me ! 

14.  If  a  man  die,  ^  shall  he  live  again? 

All  the  days  of  my  warfare  ^  would  I  wait, 
Till  my  ^  release  should  come. 

15.  ^  Thou  shouldest  call,  and  I  would  answer  thee : 

1  m.  Or,  the  grave.  2  Qr,  gah.  Eth.  and  live  again.  ^  m.  Qr,  will  .  .  .  skzU 

come.  ^  m.  Or,  change.  ^  m.  Or,  Thou  shall  call  and  I  will  b'c. 

(9)  Job  longs  for  life  after  death,  14  :  13-17 

13.  Hide  me  in  Sheol.  "Sheol  "  is  the  Hebrew  name  for  the 
underworld.  In  it  the  dead  were  thought  to  live  half-animate, 
cheerless  existences.  Job  has  already  described  it  in  3  :  13-19 
and  10:21,  22.  Other  descriptions  are  found  in  Isa.  14:9  ff. 
and  Eze.  32  :  21-32.  The  Babylonian  conception  is  portrayed 
in  the  poem  of  "Ishtar's  Descent  "  ;  the  Egyptian,  in  Steindorf's 
Religion  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians,  p.  126  ff. ;  the  Greek, 
in  the  eleventh  book  of  the  Odyssey.  Keep  me  secret  until  thy 
wrath  is  past.  Sheol  with  its  gloom  would  be  a  welcome  retreat, 
if  God  would  ever  change  his  attitude  toward  man  and  afford  him 
hope.  Remember  me.  Job,  after  strenuously  denying  another 
life  for  man,  passes  to  the  expression  of  passionate  longing  for  it. 

14.  Shall  he  live  again?  As  the  sentence  stands  it  interrupts 
the  context.  If  we  read  "and  live  again  "  with  the  versions  cited 
above  (and  the  change  affects  but  a  single  letter  of  the  Hebrew), 
the  connection  of  the  thought  is  restored.  Job  says  in  substance  : 
"If,  when  a  man  dies,  he  was  to  live  again,"  etc.  All  the  days 
of  my  warfare.  Life  is  figuratively  spoken  of  as  a  campaign. 
All  its  hardships  Job  would  cheerfully  bear  were  there  but  hope 
of  release.  My  release  should  come.  The  reading  of  the  text 
is  to  be  preferred  to  the  margin.  Job  is  thinking  of  his  release 
from  the  campaign,  and  the  Hebrew  word  suggests  the  return  to 
one's  house  from  such  service. 

15.  Thou  shouldest  call.  Job  has  expressed  the  thought  in 
v.  13  that  God's  punishments  are  due  to  his  inexplicable  anger. 
It  is,  like  most  of  our  human  conceptions  of  God,  a  piece  of  an- 
thropomorphism.    In  men  such  anger  usually  passes,  and  a  more 

142 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


Thou  wouldest  have  a  desire  to  the  work  of  thine 
hands. 

1 6.  But  now  thou  ^  numberest  my  steps : 
Dost  thou  not  watch  over  my  sin  ? 

17.  My  transgression  is  sealed  up  in  a  bag, 
And  thou  fastenest  up  mine  iniquity. 

18.  And   surely   the   mountain   falling   2  cometh   to 

nought, 
And  the  rock  is  removed  out  of  its  place ; 

1  Syr.  Ar.  wouldst  not  number.  2  m.  Heb.  fadeth  away. 


tender  and  penitent  mood  follows.  Job  hopes  that  there  may  be 
such  a  change  in  God's  attitude.  He  is  not  certain  of  it,  and  the 
translation  of  the  text  is  to  be  preferred  to  that  of  the  margin. 
But  if  Job  were  hidden  in  Sheol,  and  God  should  ever  yearn  for 
him  and  call  him,  then  Job  would  answer.  The  work  of  thine 
hands.  Job  is,  after  all,  God's  creature.  The  fact  is  mentioned 
to  touch  God's  heart.  Even  the  Almighty  should  have  a  tender 
feeling  for  his  own  handiwork. 

16.  But  now  thou  numberest  my  steps.  It  is  probable  that 
Budde  and  Peake  are  right  in  thinking  that  vs.  16,  17  continue 
the  description  of  the  ideal  relations  between  God  and  Job, 
which  might  exist  in  a  future  life.  We  should  accordingly  adopt 
the  reading  of  the  versions  cited  above  and  translate : 

"For  then  thou  wouldst  not  number  my  steps, 
Nor  watch  over  my  sin." 

17.  Is  sealed  up.  On  the  view  of  the  passage  just  expressed 
we  should  render  "would  be  sealed  up."  Thou  fastenest  up. 
The  word  means  literally  "glued  over."  It  is  usually  taken_  to 
mean  that  Job's  transgressions  are  fastened  up  for  safe  keeping 
against  the  day  of  judgment.  "  Glued  over  "  or  smeared  over 
might  also  mean  "hidden,"  "palliated,"  or  "forgotten."  On  the 
view  taken  above  of  these  verses,  it  should  be  understood  in  one 
of  these  senses. 

(10)  The  hopelessness  of  such  longing,  14  :  18-22 

18.  And  surely.  We  should  translate  simply  "But."  This 
word  forms  the  transition  to  the  strong  adversative  contrast  from 
the  ideal  picture  of  the  preceding  verses  to  the  stern  reahty. 
Mountain  .  .  .  rock.  If  the  unchanging  mountains  and  firm 
rocks  are  removed,  how  little  hope  is  there  for  frail  man ! 

143 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


19.  The  waters  wear  the  stones ; 

The  overflowings  thereof  wash  away  the  dust   of 

the  earth : 
And  thou  destroyest  the  hope  of  man. 

20.  Thou  prevailest  for  ever  against  him,  and  he  passeth ; 
Thou  changest  his  countenance,  and    sendest    him 

away. 

21.  His  sons  come  to  honour,  and  he  knoweth  it  not ; 
And  they  are  brought  low,  but  he  perceiveth  it  not 

of  them. 

22.  ^  But  his  flesh  upon  him  hath  pain, 
And  his  soul  within  him  mourneth. 

7.    The  Second  Speech  of  Eliphaz,  Ch.  15 

15.        Then  answered  Eliphaz  the  Temanite,  and  said, 
2.    Should  a  wise  man  make  answer  with  ^  vain  knowledge, 

1  m.  Or,  Only  for  himself  his  flesh  hath  pain,  and  for  himself  his  soul  mourneth.         *  jq^ 
Heb.  knowledge  of  wind. 

19.  The  overflowings  thereof.  The  Hebrew  is  difficult. 
Probably  we  should  adopt  a  slight  change  in  it  suggested 
by  Budde,  and  read  "waterspouts."  And  thou  destroyest  the 
hope  of  man.  The  hope  of  the  much-desired  future  life.  "  And  " 
should  be  rendered  "  So." 

20.  Thou  prevailest  for  ever  against  him.  In  his  last  struggle 
for  life  man  is  worsted.  Even  the  hope  of  immortaHty  is  denied 
him,  Job  feels.  Thou  changest  his  countenance.  A  reference 
to  the  pallid  countenance  of  the  dead,  which  soon  becomes  hor- 
rible through  corruption. 

21.  His  sons  come  to  honor,  and  he  knoweth  it  not.  This  was 
one  of  the  sharp  pangs  of  death.  All  that  he  had  loved  and 
lived  for  must  go  on  without  him. 

22.  His  flesh  upon  him  hath  pain.  Though  in  Sheol  the  man 
is  conceived  to  consist  as  upon  the  earth  of  body  and  soul,  the 
flesh,  as  in  Isa.  66 :  24,  suffers  from  the  pains  of  decomposition. 
His  soul  .  .  .  mourneth.  For  the  bright  life  of  the  upper  world. 
The  ancients  uniformly  thought  of  the  dead  as  longing  in  the 
gloomy  underworld  for  the  brightness  of  life. 

144 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


And  fill  his  belly  with  the  east  wind  ? 

Should  he  reason  with  unprofitable  talk, 

Or  with  speeches  wherewith  he  can  do  no  good? 

Yea,  thou  doest  away  with  fear, 

And  ^  restrainest  ^  devotion  before  God. 

For  ^  thine  iniquity  teacheth  thy  mouth, 

And  thou  choosest  the  tongue  of  the  crafty. 


1  m.  Heb.  diminishest.  ^  m.  Or,  meditation.  •  ^  m.  Or,  thy  mouth  teacheth 

thine  iniquity. 


(i)  Eliphaz  reproves  and  convicts  Job,  15  :  1-16 

2.  A  wise  man.  In  12:3  and  13:2  Job  had  claimed  to 
be  wise.  Eliphaz  refers  to  these  claims  and  asks  if  this  is  the 
manner  in  which  a  wise  man  would  speak.  Vain  knowledge. 
The  margin,  "knowledge  of  wind  "  or  "windy  knowledge  "  gives 
the  Hteral  meaning  of  the  Hebrew.  Job  seemed  to  his  friends  to 
pour  forth  windy  words.  Bildad  in  8 :  2  had  used  the  same 
figure  of  Job's  reply  to  Eliphaz.  East  wind.  Several  of  the 
ancient  versions  render  "burning  wind,"  the  equivalent  of  the 
modern  "sirocco."  In  Palestine  this  wind  pours  in  from  the  arid 
and  heated  desert  sometimes  for  weeks  at  a  stretch.  It  sucks 
the  moisture  from  everything,  causing  leaves  to  wither,  parch- 
ing the  skin,  and  rendering  life  a  burden.  Such,  says  EHphaz, 
is  the  effect  of  Job's  words. 

3.  Unprofitable  talk.  This  and  the  rest  of  the  verse  further 
explain  Eliphaz's  conception  of  Job's  speech. 

4.  Doest  away  with  fear.  One  of  the  commonest  terms  for 
worship  in  antiquity  was  "fear."  Job  had  lost  all  fear  or  rever- 
ence for  God.  His  utterances  seemed  to  Eliphaz  to  do  away 
with  all  religion.  Restrainest  devotion.  The  margin,  "di- 
minishest meditation"  is  more  literal.  The  idea  seems  to  be  that 
Job  destroys  that  quiet  stillness  before  God  which  is  the  heart 
of  religion. 

5.  Thine  iniquity  teacheth  thy  mouth.  The  Hebrew  is  ambig- 
uous. If  we  read  it  as  in  the  text,  it  means  that  Job's  sinfulness 
has  prompted  his  irreverent  speech.  If  we  read  it  as  in  the 
margin,  "Thy  mouth  teacheth  thine  iniquity,"  it  means  that  Job's 
utterances  are  proof  to  his  friends  of  his  guilt.  Probably  we 
should  prefer  the  text  to  the  margin,  but  in  either  case  Eliphaz 
declares  that  Job  has  now  proven  himself  a  sinner. 

L  145 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


6.  Thine  own  mouth  condemneth  thee,  and  not  I ; 
Yea,  thine  own  lips  testify  against  thee. 

7.  Art  thou  the  first  man  that  was  born  ? 

Or  wast  thou  brought  forth  before  the  hills  ? 

8.  ^  Hast  thou  heard  the  secret  counsel  of  God  ? 
And  dost  thou  ^  restrain  wisdom  to  thyself  ? 

9.  What  knowest  thou,  that  we  know  not  ? 
What  understandest  thou,  which  is  not  in  us  ? 

10.  With  us  are  both  the  grayheaded  and  the  very 

aged  men, 

*  m.  Or,  Dost  thou  hearken  in  the  council.      2  Syr.  Ar.  reveal.     Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  discover. 

6.  Thine  own  mouth  condemneth  thee,  and  not  I.  The  words 
remind  us  of  words  in  the  New  Testament :  "  What  further  need 
have  we  of  witnesses?  "  Mk.  14:  63.  Eliphaz  feels  that  noth- 
ing could  so  conclusively  prove  corruption  as  such  utterances. 

7.  Art  thou  the  first  man.  The  pent  up  indignation  of  Eli- 
phaz finds  expression  in  a  series  of  ironical  questions.  It  was 
an  axiom  of  the  time  that  wisdom  pertained  to  age.  Eliphaz 
asks,  "Art  thou  the  first  man  that  was  born,"  that  thou  art  able 
to  speak  with  such  surpassing  wisdom?  Brought  forth  before 
the  hills.  For  the  expression  compare  Ps.  90:2,  and  Pr. 
8 :  25.  In  the  latter  passage  (Pr.  8 :  25-30)  wisdom  is  person- 
ified as  existing  before  the  hills  and  as  standing  by  God  as  an  archi- 
tect during  creation. 

8.  Hast  thou  heard  the  secret  counsel.  We  obtain  the 
thought  of  the  Hebrew  by  slightly  altering  the  marginal  reading, 
making  it,  "Didst  thou  hear  the  secret  council?  "  Eliphaz 
asks  sarcastically  whether  Job  has  been  admitted  to  the  special 
secrets  of  God.  Restrain  wisdom  to  thyself.  This  is  usually 
taken  to  mean,  "Didst  thou  draw  wisdom  to  thyself?  "  This, 
however,  makes  a  weak  contrast  to  the  first  line.  We  should 
emend  the  text  either  with  the  Syriac  or  the  Greek  as  cited  above 
and  read,  "Didst  thou  reveal  wisdom  to  thyself?"  or  "Didst 
thou  discover  wisdom  for  thyself?  "  Eliphaz  ironically  asks  if 
a  special  revelation  is  the  source  of  Job's  wisdom,  or  does  it  spring 
from  his  own  remarkable  personality. 

9.  What  knowest  thou  that  we  know  not?  The  positive 
question  is  a  negative  assertion.  Eliphaz  does  not  believe  that 
Job  is  a  bit  wiser  than  his  friends. 

10.  Grayheaded  .  .  .  aged  .  .  .  elder  than  thy  father.     The 

146 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


Much  elder  than  thy  father. 

11.  Are  the  consolations  of  God  too  small  for  thee, 
1  And  the  word  that  dealeth  gently  with  thee  ? 

12.  Why  doth  thine  heart  carry  thee  away  ? 
And  why  do  thine  eyes  ^  wink  ? 

13.  That  thou  turnest  thy  spirit  against  God, 
And  lettest  such  words  go  out  of  thy  mouth. 

14.  What  is  man,  that  he  should  be  clean  ? 

And  he  which  is  born  of  a  woman,  that  he  should 
be  righteous  ? 

15.  Behold,  he  putteth  no  trust  in  his  holy  ones; 


m.  Or,  Or  is  there  any  secret  thing  with  thee  ?        2  Syr.  Vulg.  Targ.  Ar.  tremble  or  roll. 


idea  persists  with  Eliphaz  that  age  means  wisdom,  although  Job 
had  denied  this  in  12  :  12. 

11.  The  consolations  of  God.  Probably  a  reference  to  the  con- 
solations contained  in  the  former  speech  of  EHphaz.  Too  small 
for  thee.  A  Hebrew  idiom  for  something  that  is  unsatisfying 
or  insufficient;  cf.  Num.  16:9  and  Isa.  7:  13.  The  word  that 
dealeth  gently  with  thee.  The  text  is  far  preferable  to  the  mar- 
gm.  The  reference  is  still  to  Eliphaz's  former  speech,  in  which 
he  had  endeavored  to  deal  gently  with  Job. 

12.  Thine  heart.  We  should  say  thy  feelings.  Thine  eyes 
wink.  We  should  read  with  the  versions  cited  above  "tremble," 
i.e.  ''roll."  The  reference  is  to  the  flashing  or  rolling  of  the  eyes 
in  anger  or  passionate  feeling. 

13.  Thy  spu-it  against  God.  The  heart  of  religious  unrest  is 
the  lack  of  resignation.  Eliphaz  could  not  appreciate  the  causes 
which  for  the  moment  made  it  impossible  for  Job  to  be  resigned ; 
Job's  attitude  accordingly  seemed  to  him  wilful  rebellion.  Such 
words.  That  is,  bitter,  rebelHous  words  —  the  outpourings  of  a 
rebellious  spirit. 

14.  He  which  is  bom  of  woman.  Eliphaz  cites  the  Oriental 
estimate  of  woman,  which  Job  himself  had  mentioned  in  14 :  i, 
as  proof  of  the  impossibility  of  human  purity.  The  revelation 
of  this  impossibility  to  himself  Eliphaz  had  told  in  his  former 
speech,  4:  12  ff. 

15.  Holy  ones.  The  angels  as  in  5:1.  The  heavens.  The 
heavens  and  stars  were  to  the  Hebrews  a  symbol  of  clearness, 
brightness,  purity  (cf.  Ex.  24;  10  and  Job  25  :  5),  but  even  these 

147 


15  :  i6  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


Yea,  the  heavens  are  not  clean  in  his  sight. 

1 6.  How  much  less  ^  one  that  is  abominable  and  corrupt, 
A  man  that  drinketh  iniquity  like  water  ! 

17.  I  will  shew  thee,  hear  thou  me; 

And  that  which  I  have  seen  I  will  declare : 

18.  (Which  wise  men  have  told 

^  From  their  fathers,  and  have  not  hid  it ; 

19.  Unto  whom  alone  the  land  was  given, 
And  no  stranger  passed  among  them :) 

20.  The  wicked  man  travaileth  with  pain  all  his  days, 

^  m.  Or,  that  which  is.  2  Syr.  Vulg.  Sah.  Eth.  And  their  fathers  have  not  hidden. 

are,  Eliphaz  declares,  impure  in  God's  sight.     So  far  does  the 
divine  standard  exceed  the  human. 

16.  Abominable  and  corrupt.  The  terms  are  used  of  man  in  an 
ethical  sense  in  contrast  with  the  angels.  The  word  for  "cor- 
rupt" occurs  elsewhere  in  the  Old  Testament  only  in  Ps.  14  :  3  and 
53  :  3,  where  it  has  an  ethical  meaning.  A  man.  Man  in  general, 
but  with  a  hint  at  Job.  Drinketh  iniquity  like  water.  That  is, 
as  naturally  as  he  drinks  water  to  quench  his  thirst. 

(2)  The  wise,  on  the  wicked,  15  :  17-35 

17.  I  will  shew  thee.  Having  finished  his  reproof,  Eliphaz 
again  undertakes  to  instruct  Job.  That  which  I  have  seen.  As 
before,  he  speaks  from  experience  and  observation. 

18.  Which  wise  men  have  told.  What  Eliphaz  will  say  is  also 
the  wisdom  of  the  ancients.  His  observation,  he  feels,  has  taught 
him  the  truth  because  it  is  in  accordance  with  the  experience  of 
the  past.  From  their  fathers,  and  have  not  hid  it.  We  should 
read  with  the  versions  cited  above,  "And  their  fathers  have 
not  hidden."  The  tradition,  he  declares,  has  come  down  in  an 
unbroken  chain  from  remote  antiquity. 

19.  No  stranger  passed  among  them.  To  devastate  the  land 
by  conquest  and  to  corrupt  the  stream  of  orthodox  tradition  by 
the  admixture  of  foreign  currents. 

20.  The  wicked  man  travaileth  with  pain  all  his  days.  This 
is  the  philosophy  of  life  which  has  been  handed  down  from  the 
past.  Eliphaz  believes  it  true.  The  author  of  Ps.  73,  like  Job, 
had  occasion  to  form  a  diflferent  view  of  the  matter;  see  Ps. 
73  :  4)  5>  7 J  12.  In  the  last  clause  of  the  verse  the  text  is  to  be 
preferred  to  the  margin. 

148 


THE    BOOK  OF  JOB 


1  Even   the  number   of  years  that  are  laid  up  for 
the  oppressor. 

21.  A  sound  of  terrors  is  in  his  ears ; 

In  prosperity  the  spoiler  shall  come  upon  him : 

22.  He    believeth  not    that  he    shall    return    out  of 

darkness, 
And  he  is  waited  for  of  the  sword : 

23.  2  He  wandereth  abroad  for  bread,  saying,  Where 

is  it? 
3  He  knoweth  that  the  day  of   darkness  is   ready 
at  his  hand : 

24.  ^  Distress  and  anguish  ^  make  him  afraid ; 

1  m.  Or.  And  years  that  are  numbered  are  laid  up  b'c.  2  Qr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  Fe  is 

appointed  Jorjood  of  vultures.  ^  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  He  knows  that  he  is  destined  to 

calamity,  and  the  day  of  darkness  terrifies  him.  *  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  Distress  and 

angtiish  overwhelm  him.  ^  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  take  the  phrase  with  the  preced- 

ing verse  as  above. 

2 1 .  A  sound  of  terrors  is  in  his  ears.  Even  when  he  is  prosper- 
ous he  is  tortured  by  anticipations  of  coming  retribution.  The 
spoiler  shall  come  upon  him.  His  gloomy  anticipations  are  swiftly 
realized.     It  is  a  very  different  view  from  that  of  Ps.  73  :  5. 

22.  He  believeth  not  that  he  shall  return  out  of  darkness. 
When  the  calamity  comes  he  has  no  hope  of  restoration,  for  he 
knows  he  does  not  deserve  it.  He  is  waited  for  of  the  sword. 
We  should  probably  read  with  the  versions  cited  above,  "laid 
up  for  the  sword."  The  passage  seems  to  mean  that  he  is  taken 
captive  by  the  spoilers  and  reserved  for  slaughter. 

23.  He  wandereth  abroad  for  bread,  saying,  Where  is  it?  We 
should  read  with  the  versions  cited  above,  "He  is  appointed 
for  food  of  vultures."  The  reading  involves  the  change  of  but 
a  single  letter  in  the  Hebrew,  and  continues  much  better  the 
thought  of  V.  22.  It  is  natural  after  one  is  given  to  the  sword  to 
say  that  he  will  be  food  for  vultures.  He  knoweth  that  the  day 
of  darkness  is  ready  at  his  hand.  We  should  read  with  the 
versions  cited  above:  "He  knows  that  he  is  destined  to  calam- 
ity." With  these  versions  we  should  connect  "the  day  of  dark- 
ness "  with  the  first  verb  in  v.  24,  making  the  sentence,  "The  day 
of  darkness  terrifies  him." 

24.  Distress  and  anguish  make  him  afraid,  they  prevail  against 
him.     We  should  read  with  the  versions   just  quoted,  "Distress 

149 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


They  prevail  against  him,  as  a  king  ready  to  the 
battle : 

25.  Because  he  hath  stretched  out  his  hand  against 

God, 
And  ^  behaveth  himself  proudly  against  the  Al- 
mighty ; 

26.  He  runneth  upon  him  with  ^  a  stif  neck, 
^  With  the  thick  bosses  of  his  bucklers : 

27.  Because  he  hath  covered  his  face  with  his  fatness, 

1  m.  Or,  biddeth  defiance  to.  2  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  pride.  »  m.  Or,  Upon. 

and  anguish  overwhelm  him."  The  four  lines  then  become  five 
and  read : 

"He  is  appointed  for  food  of  vultures, 
He  knows  that  he  is  destined  to  calamity, 
The  day  of  darkness  terrifies  him, 
Distress  and  anguish  overwhelm  him 
As  a  king  ready  for  the  onset." 

As  a  king  ready  to  the  battle.  The  word  rendered  "battle  " 
occurs  nowhere  else  and  is  doubtful.  It  would,  perhaps,  be 
better  to  render  it  "onset."  Some  scholars  think  the  clause 
unsuitable  here,  and  regard  it  as  a  gloss  to  v.  26.  If,  however, 
we  connect  it  directly  with  "distress  and  anguish,"  as  is  done 
above,  it  is  a  fitting  conclusion  to  the  thought.  In  his  foreboding 
he  pictures  distress  and  anguish  as  a  king  ready  for  the  onset, 
and  is,  in  anticipation,  already  overwhelmed  by  them. 

25.  Because  he  hath  stretched  out  his  hand  against  God. 
This  verse  gives  the  reason  for  the  mental  forebodings  previously 
described.  Behaveth  himself  proudly.  The  margin  renders 
"biddeth  defiance  to."  It  is  expressed  in  Hebrew  by  a  word 
which  means  "to  act  like  a  warrior."  This  word  is  further  illus- 
trated in  the  following  verses. 

26.  With  a  stiff  neck.  We  should  read  with  the  versions 
cited  J  above,  "with  pride"  or  "insolence."  With  the  thick 
bosses.  "With  "  is  better  than  "Upon  "  of  the  margin.  The 
verse  is  a  picture  of  how  the  man  who  "acts  like  a  warrior  " 
conducts  himself  in  battle.  Like  such  a  man,  the  sinner  makes 
his  attack  upon  God. 

27.  Covered  his  face  with  his  fatness.  Fatness  is  used  in  the 
Old  Testament  as  a  synonym   for  a  spirit  that  is  rebellious  and 

150 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


And  made  collops  of  fat  on  his  flanks ; 

28.  1  And  he  hath  dwelt  in  2  desolate  cities, 
In  houses  which  no  man  ^  inhabited, 
Which  were  ready  to  become  heaps. 

29.  He  shall  not  be  rich,  neither  shall  his  substance 

continue, 
Neither  shall  *  their  produce  bend  to  the  earth. 

30.  He  shall  not  depart  out  of  darkness ; 
The  flame  shall  dry  up  his  branches. 

And  by  the  breath  ^  of   his  mouth  ^  shall  he  go 
away. 


1  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  And  viay  he  dwell.         2  m.  Heb.  cut  off.         3  ni.  Or,  would  inhabit. 
*  m.  Or,  their  possessions  be  extended  oti  the  earth.     Gr.  Sab.  Eth.  cast  a  shadow  upon 
the  earth.         Gi.  Sah.  his  flower.    ^  Eth.  his  fruit.         ^  Gr.  Ssih.  Eth.  shall  fall. 

insensate  to  all  the  higher  and  finer  sensibilities.  See  Deut. 
32:15  and  Ps.  73  :  7-  Collops  of  fat.  That  is,  thick  folds  of  fat 
or  a  superabundance  of  it. 

28.  And  he  hath  dwelt  in  desolate  cities.  As  the  text  stands 
it  refers  to  the  past.  The  dwelling  of  the  prosperous  sinner  could 
only  be  said  to  be  desolate  in  a  figurative  way  on  account  of  his 
foreboding  of  evil.  It  is  better  to  read  with  the  versions  cited 
above,  "  And  may  he  dwell  in  desolate  cities."  This  involves  no 
change  in  the  Hebrew  letters,  but  in  two  vowel  points  only.  The 
verse  then  becomes  a  pious  wish  of  Eliphaz  expressive  of  his  con- 
ception of  a  fate  befitting  one  who  so  insolently  attacks  God. 

29.  Neither  shall  their  produce  bend  to  the  earth.  The 
Hebrew  word  for  "produce  "  is  unusual  and  doubtful.  Perhaps 
we  should  read  with  the  versions  cited  above,  "Neither  shall  he 
casta  shadow  upon  the  earth."  We  should  then  have  an  anti- 
thetic parallelism :  he  shall  not  become  rich,  but  on  the  contrary 
shall  waste  away.  The  casting  of  a  shadow  begins  the  compari- 
son of  the  sinner  to  a  tree. 

30.  He  shall  not  depart  out  of  darkness.  This  sentence  inter- 
rupts the  comparison  of  the  sinner  to  a  tree,  which  the  previous 
verse  had  begun.  As  several  commentators  have  perceived,  it  is 
a  gloss  brought  in  here  from  v.  22,  and  should  be  omitted.  The 
flame.  Figurative  for  the  fierce  heat  of  the  sun.  And  by  the 
breath.  We  should  read  "  by  the  wind."  "  Breath  "  and  "  wind  " 
are  expressed  in  Hebrew  by  the  same  Hebrew  word.     Of  his 

151 


THE   BOOK  OF   JOB 


31.  Let  him  not  trust  ^  in  vanity,  deceiving  himself; 
For  vanity  shall  be  his  recompence. 

32.  2  It  shall  be  ^  accomplished  before  his  time, 
And  his  branch  shall  not  be  green. 

33.  He  shall  shake  off  his  unripe  grape  as  the  vine, 
And  shall  cast  off  his  flower  as  the  olive. 

34.  For  the  company  of  the  godless  shall  be  barren. 
And  fire  shall  consume  the  tents  of  bribery. 

35.  They  conceive  mischief,  and  bring  forth  iniquity, 
And  their  belly  ^  prepareth  deceit. 

1  Gr.  Sah.  that  he  shall  continue.         2  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  His  cutting.         » m.  Or,  paid 
in  full.     Syr.  Ai.  shall  wither.        *  Gi.  Syi.  OLa.t.Eth.  Ai.  containeth. 

mouth.  We  should  read  with  the  versions  cited  above  either  "his 
flower  "  or  "his  fruit."  Shall  he  go  away.  We  must  read  with 
the  versions  cited,  "shall  fall."     The  verse  then  becomes: 

"  The  flame  shall  dry  up  his  branches 
And  by  the  wind  his  flower  shall  fall." 

31.  Let  him  not  trust  in  vanity,  deceiving  himself.  Most 
lecent  interpreters  omit  this  verse  as  an  abstract  gloss  which 
interrupts  the  thought.  If,  however,  we  read  with  the  two  ver- 
sions cited : 

"Let  him  not  trust  that  he  shall  continue, 
For  vanity  shall  be  his  recompense," 

we  have  a  verse  which  admirably  fits  the  context.  Vanity. 
Here  equivalent  to  "disaster." 

32.  It  shall  be  accomplished  before  his  time.  We  should 
read  with  the  versions  cited  above,  "His  pruning  shall  be 
accomplished  before  its  time,"  or  "shall  wither  before  its  tirne." 
The  figure  of  the  tree  is  continued.  The  approaching  calamities 
are  metaphorically  spoken  of  as  a  pruning  out  of  season. 

33.  He  shall  shake  off  his  unripe  grape  as  the  vine.  Under 
still  other  metaphors  the  figure  of  calamity  as  the  premature 
falling  of  the  unripe  fruit  of  a  vine  or  tree  is  continued  in  this 
verse.     How  disappointing  is  such  failure  ! 

34.  For  the  .  .  .  godless  shall  be  barren.  This  sums  up  in 
plain  words  all  that  Eliphaz  has  been  setting  forth  through  this  long 
figure. 

35.  Prepareth    deceit.     We    should   read    with  the   versions 

152 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB  1 6 


8.  Job's  Second  Reply  to  Eliphaz,  Chs.  i6,  17 

16,  Then  Job  answered  and  said, 

2.  I  have  heard  many  such  things : 
1  Miserable  comforters  are  ye  all. 

3.  Shall  2  vain  words  have  an  end  ? 

Or  what  provoketh  thee  that  thou  answerest? 

4.  I  also  could  speak  as  ye  do ; 

If  your  soul  were  in  my  soul's  stead, 
I  could  join  words  together  against  you, 
And  shake  mine  head  at  you. 


1  m.  Or.  Wearisome.  ^  m.  Heb.  words  of  wind. 


quoted    above,    "containeth    deceit."     Eliphaz    concludes    with 
this  sweeping  description  of  the  wicked. 

(i)    Job  is  weary  of  vain  talk,  16  :  1-5 

2.  I  have  heard  many  such  things  as  these.  Probably  what 
Job  means  is  that  the  friends  say  the  same  things  over  and  over. 
In  reality  they  all  repeat  the  same  thought,  viz.  that  Job  must 
have  sinned  or  he  would  not  suffer,  and  that  the  righteous  enjoy 
outward  prosperity.  He  had  declared  in  12:3  that  everybody 
knew  such  things,  but  Eliphaz  had  said  the  same  things  again. 
It  is  hard  when  ill  to  hear  an  unjust  platitude  once;  to  have  it 
repeated  again  and  again  is  exasperating.  Miserable  comforters. 
The  margin  gives  the  literal  meaning.  Instead  of  comforting 
him  the  friends  increased  his  suffering.  The  words  refer,  perhaps, 
to  the  question  of  Eliphaz,  "Are  the  consolations  of  God  too 
small  for  thee?  "  15  :  11. 

3.  Vain  words.  Literally,  as  the  margin  has  it,  "words  of 
wind."  Job  returns  upon  Eliphaz  his  own  accusation  of  "windy 
knowledge,"  15:2.  What  provoketh  thee?  Job  seems  quite 
unconscious  that  he  has  said  anything  to  irritate  his  friends. 
This  is  true  to  human  nature. 

4.  I  also  could  speak  as  ye  do.  It  is  easy  to  moralize  when 
the  torture  is  inflicted  upon  another.  Job  perceives  this  and 
implies  that  the  man  with  real  insight  and  genuine  sympathy 
would  rise  above  such  temptation.  Join  words  together.  _  Make 
artificial  speeches.  Shake  mine  head.  A  gesture  of  astonishment 
or  scorn ;   cf.  Ps.  22:7  and  Isa.  37  :  22.     Here  it  is,  as  Hitzig  and 

153 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


5.  But  I  would  strengthen  you  with  my  mouth, 
And  the  solace  of  my  Hps  ^  should  assuage  your 

grief. 

6.  Though  I  speak,  my  grief  is  not  assuaged : 
And  though  I  forbear,  ^  what  am  I  eased  ? 

7.  But  now  he  hath  made  me  weary : 

^  Thou  hast  made  desolate  ^  all  my  company. 

1  Gr.  Syr.  Sah.  A.r.  /  would  not  spare  you.  '  m.  Heb.  what  departethfrom  me? 

«  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  He  hath  made  me  desolate.  *  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  omit  all  my  company. 

Davidson  note,  as  much  as  to  say  :  "Ah  !  I  would  not  have  thought 
that  a  man  who  seemed  so  pious  was  as  great  a  sinner  as  his 
misfortunes  show  that  he  is." 

5.  Should  assuage  your  grief.  We  should  read  with  the  ver- 
sions cited  above,  "I  would  not  spare  you."  Job  does  not  say 
that  he  would  assuage  their  grief.  His  mood  is  rather  that  in 
which  he  wishes  for  the  moment  that  the  tables  were  turned,  that 
he  might  let  his  friends  know  by  experience  how  one  in  his  position 
feels  to  be  thus  addressed. 

(2)    Joh  asserts  his  belief  that  God  is  permanently  hostile  to   him, 
16:  6-17 

6.  Though  I  speak,  my  grief  is  not  assuaged.  This  verse  is  a 
transition  between  what  precedes  and  what  follows.  Job  has 
flung  out  his  taunt  to  his  friends,  and  now  turns  to  himself.  In 
his  preceding  speeches  he  has  uttered  with  unexampled  freedom 
all  the  wild  thoughts  which  came  into  his  mind,  but  his  suffer- 
ing is  lessened  neither  in  body  nor  mind.  Naturally  he  wonders 
whether  speech  avails  anything.  Though  I  forbear,  what  am  I 
eased  ?  The  thought  is  the  same  whether  we  adopt  the  reading  of 
the  text  or  the  margin.     Silence  brings  no  more  relief  than  speech. 

7.  He.  That  is,  God.  Hath  made  me  weary.  Has  exhausted 
my  patience.  Thou  hast  made  me  desolate.  We  should  read 
with  the  Greek  and  other  versions,  "He  has  made  me  desolate." 
All  my  company.  These  are  strange  words  here.  They  are 
supposed  to  refer  to  Job's  friends,  but  it  is  better  with  the  ver- 
sions cited  above  to  omit  them,  and  fill  out  the  line  by  taking 
over  the  first  verb  from  v.  8.     The  verse  would  then  read : 

"He  has  wearied  me  out, 
Made  me  desolate,  and  seized  me." 

154 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


8.  And  ^  thou  hast  ^  laid  fast  hold  on  me,  which  is  a 

witness  against  me: 
And  my  leanness  riseth  up  against  me,  it  testifieth 
to  my  face. 

9.  He  hath  torn  me  in  his  wrath,  and  ^  persecuted 

me; 

He  hath  gnashed  upon  me  with  his  teeth : 

Mine  ^  adversary  sharpeneth  ^  his  eyes  upon  me. 
10.  They  have  gaped  upon  me  with  their  mouth; 

They  have  smitten  me  upon  the  cheek  reproach- 
fully: 

They  gather  themselves  together  against  me. 

^Gr.he.  ^m.  Or,  shrivelled  me  up.    Gr.  takes  this  with  the  preceding  verse. 

'  m.  Or,  hated  me.    Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  overthrew  me.  *  Sym.  Syr.  Ar.  adversaries. 

*  Sym.  Syr.  Ar.  their  eyes. 

8.  Which  is  a  witness  against  me.  As  the  italics  show,  the 
revisers  have  added  some  words.  These  are  unnecessary.  We 
should  read  the  verse  in  connection  with  v.  7,  thus : 

"He  has  wearied  me  out, 
Made  me  desolate,  seized  me ; 
For  a  witness  is  it  that  he  stands  against  me ; 
My  leanness  answers  to  my  face." 

Testifieth  to  my  face.     Of  what  God  is  doing  and  what  his  atti- 
tude toward  me  is. 

9.  Tom  me  in  his  wrath.  The  verse  pictures  another  step  in 
the  manifestation  of  God's  hostility.  Persecuted  me.  Better 
than  either  the  text  or  the  margin  is  the  reading  of  the  versions 
given  above,  "he  hath  cast  me  down."  He  hath  gnashed  upon 
me  with  his  teeth.  The  whole  description  is  that  of  a  beast  of 
prey  pursuing  his  victim.  He  wearies  him  in  the  chase,  seizes 
him,  tears  him,  throws  him  down,  and  gnashes  his  teeth  at  him. 
Mine  adversary.  We  should  read  with  the  versions  cited,  "ad- 
versaries "  and  "their  eyes."  The  line  begins  a  description  which 
is  continued  in  the  next  verse.  As  other  interpreters  have  no- 
ticed, V.  II  should  come  before  this  clause. 

10.  They  have  gaped  upon  me.  The  whole  verse  continues 
the  description  of  adversaries  begun  in  v.  9.  Probably  Job  has 
his  friends  in  mind,  and  this  verse  reveals  how  their  consolations 
have  impressed  him. 

155 


THE   BOOK   OF  JOB 


11.  God  delivereth  me  to  the  ungodly, 

And  casteth  me  into  the  hands  of  the  wicked. 

12.  I  was  at  ease,  and  he  brake  me  asunder ; 

Yea,  he  hath  taken  me  by  ^  the  neck,  and  dashed 

me  to  pieces : 
He  hath  also  set  me  up  for  his  mark. 

13.  His  ^  archers  compass  me  round  about, 

He  cleaveth  my  reins  asunder,  and  doth  not  spare ; 
He  poureth  out  my  gall  upon  the  ground. 

14.  He  breaketh  me  with  breach  upon  breach ; 

*  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  the  hair.  '  m.  Or,  arrows,  or,  mighty  ones. 

11.  God  delivereth  me  to  the  ungodly.  As  noted  above,  this 
verse  should  come  before  gc.  Up  to  that  point  God  has  been  por- 
trayed as  a  lion  pursuing  his  prey.  As  the  lion  casts  something 
to  the  jackals,  so  God,  having  worried  Job,  has  cast  him  to  lesser 
tormentors.  The  wicked.  The  strength  of  the  language  makes 
one  think  of  men  who  are  actually  sinners,  but  Job's  actual  ex- 
periences and  the  connection  in  which  the  phrase  stands  make 
one  think  it  a  reference  to  his  friends.  In  his  excited  state  he 
might  apply  to  them  such  language.  The  friends  thus  become 
the  jackals  of  the  figure  used  above. 

12.  He  brake  me  asunder.  The  verse  returns  to  speak  of  God's 
own  treatment  of  Job.  Other  figures  are  now  employed  to  describe 
how  the  divine  wrath  was  manifested.  He  hath  also  set  me  up 
for  his  mark.  Shooting  at  a  target  was  in  ancient  time  a  princely 
sport.  An  inscription  found  in  front  of  the  Sphinx  in  Egypt 
names  as  one  of  the  accomplishments  of  Thothmes  IV,  who  ruled 
from  1420  to  141 1  B.C.,  "shooting  at  a  target  with  copper  bolts." 
Job  represents  God  as  similarly  setting  him  up  as  his  target. 

13.  His  archers  compass  me.  We  should  read  as  in  the  margin, 
"His  arrows."  The  figure  of  the  prince  practising  at  a  target  is 
continued.  About  the  target  the  arrows  fly  swiftly.  He  cleaveth 
my  reins  asunder.  Now  an  arrow  pierces  the  victim's  body. 
"Reins,"  as  often  in  Hebrew,  is  used  for  the  vital  parts.  He 
poureth  out  my  gall.  An  arrow  pierces  the  gall  bladder,  and 
through  the  wound  the  gall  exudes.  The  words  look  in  two  direc- 
tions. They  carry  on  the  figure  of  the  archer,  and  figuratively  in- 
terpreted they  eloquently  set  forth  the  bitterness  of  Job's  suffering. 

14.  He  breaketh  me  with  breach  upon  breach.  The  figure  is 
now  changed.     Job  is  a  fortress  which  God  is  storming.     Like  a 

156 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


He  runneth  upon  me  like  a  ^  giant. 

15.  I  have  sewed  sackcloth  upon  my  skin, 
And  hsLvef  laid  my  horn  in  the  dust. 

16.  My  face  is  ^  foul  with  weeping, 

And  on  my  eyelids  is  the  shadow  of  death ; 

17.  Although  there  is  no  violence  in  mine  hands, 
And  my  prayer  is  pure. 

18.  O  earth,  cover  not  thou  my  blood, 

1  m.  Or,  mighty  man.  2  m.  Or ,  defiled.  '  m.  Or,  red. 

giant.  Neither  the  text  nor  the  margin  gives  quite  the  shade  of 
thought.  The  word  simply  means  "warrior."  True  there  is 
associated  with  it  the  idea  of  success  or  heroism  in  war,  but  it 
means  here  the  kind  of  warrior  who  successfully  breaks  his  way 
into  a  fortress  —  a  man  like  Richard  Coeur  de  Lion. 

15.  Sackcloth.  A  coarse  dark  cloth  made  from  the  hair  of 
goats  and  camels.  It  was  worn  on  the  loins  next  the  skin  in 
mourning.  See  2  Kgs.  6  :  30.  In  primitive  times  it  was  probably 
the  only  garment  the  Semites  wore,  so  in  times  of  mourning  or 
humiliation  it  was  resumed.  Laid  my  horn  in  the  dust.  Lit- 
erally "thrust  my  horn  in  the  dust."  The  horn  was  a  symbol 
of  strength.  To  exalt  one's  horn  was  to  strengthen  or  prosper 
him  (i  Sam.  2:1);  for  one  to  lift  up  his  horn  was  to  be  arrogant 
(Ps.  75  :  3,  4) ;  to  break  or  cut  off  one's  horn  was  to  weaken  him 
(Jer.  48  :  25  ;  Lam.  2:3).  Accordingly,  to  thrust  one's  horn  in  the 
dust  was  utterly  to  humble  one's  self. 

16.  My  face  is  foul  with  weeping.  Not  even  the  marginal 
"red  "  quite  gives  the  force  of  the  word.  "Inflamed  is  my  face  " 
is  the  meaning  of  the  Hebrew.  Shadow  of  death. _  He  feels  that 
the  darkness  of  death  is  settling  down  over  his  vision. 

17.  Although  there  is  no  violence  in  mine  hands.  Three  of  the 
four  words  by  which  this  clause  is  expressed  in  the  Hebrew  are 
identical  with  words  in  the  first  clause  of  Isa.  53  :  9.  Perhaps 
there  was  a  conscious  adoption  of  the  words  of  the  great  Servant 
of  Jehovah.  My  prayer  is  pure.  Job  repels  the  charge  of  irrev- 
erence which  Eliphaz  had  made  in  15:4.  The  whole  verse 
is  a  repudiation  of  his  insinuations  of  sinfulness  in  15  :  5  and  35^ 

(3)    Faith  in  God  and  righteousness  struggles  through  his  storm'of 
feeling,  16  :  18-17  :  9 

18.  O  earth,  cover  not  thou  my  blood.  The  injustice  of  his 
terrible  fate,  that  he,  an  innocent  man,  should  be  thus  done  to 

IS7 


19  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


And  let  my  cry  ^  have  no  resting  place. 

19.  Even  now,  behold,  my  witness  is  in  heaven, 
And  he  that  voucheth  for  me  is  on  high. 

20.  2  My  friends  scorn  me : 

1  m.  Or,  have  no  more  place.  ^  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  May  my  prayer  come  before  God,  and 

my  eyes  pour  out  tears  before  him. 

death,  breaks  over  Job  anew,  and  he  utters  a  passionate  appeal 
that  his  blood  be  not  covered.  There  was  a  widespread  feeling 
in  antiquity,  which  the  Hebrews  shared,  that  blood  spilled  on 
the  ground  cried  for  vengeance  (cf.  Gen.  4:10;  Heb.  11:4; 
12:  24).  Its  cry  might  be  stifled  by  covering  it  (Gen.  37:  26), 
so  Ezekiel  (24:7,  8)  declared  that  certain  blood  should  be 
poured  on  the  rock  where  its  cry  could  not  be  suppressed  by  being 
absorbed.  It  is  true  the  earth  might  disclose  the  blood  thus 
absorbed  (Isa.  26:  21),  but  the  absorption  was  nevertheless  an 
interruption  of  its  cry.  That  this  was  the  thought  in  Job's, 
mind  is  shown  by  the  next  clause.  Let  my  cry  have  no  resting 
place.  It  would  be  a  little  consolation  if  the  cry  against  so  cruelly 
unjust  a  fate  could  go  up  unceasingly.  In  reality  Job's  blood 
was  not  actually  shed,  and  the  whole  passage  is  figurative,  but 
it  nevertheless  expresses  his  passionate  feeling. 

19,  My  witness  is  in  heaven.  One  of  the  finest  threads  which 
the  poet  has  woven  into  this  great  poem  is  the  thought  that  after 
all  God  is  just.  However  much  Job  may  in  his  rebellion  against 
his  fate  charge  God  with  ill-treating  him,  the  poet  represents 
him  as  coming  back  again  and  again  to  unshakable  confidence  in 
the  moral  integrity  and  ultimate  justice  of  God.  One  instance 
of  it  is  found  in  13 :  16,  and  another  instance  occurs  here. 
Job  in  the  hopelessness  of  his  unjust  fate  demands  that  the  cry 
for  justice  shall  never  be  silenced  or  interrupted,  when  suddenly 
his  unshakable  conviction  in  the  moral  character  of  God  —  a 
conviction  which  no  tortures  could  eradicate  from  him  —  surges 
up  again,  and  he  declares  that  his  Witness  is  in  heaven,  and  that 
there  is  on  high  One  to  vouch  for  him.  He  no  longer  hopes  for 
life;  he  has  not  now  faith  that  God  will  ever  call  him  up  from 
Sheol ;  but,  when  his  present  mood  of  anger  is  gone  by,  God  will 
some  day  acknowledge  that  Job  was  innocent  and  pure,  and  Job's 
good  name  will  be  vindicated. 

20.  My  friends  scorn  me.  Literally,  "My  scorners  are  my 
friends."  The  versions  quoted  above  had  a  different  reading, 
but  one  which  is  out  of  harmony  with  the  context.  Several 
emendations  have  been  proposed,  but  the  passage  is  touchingly 

158 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


But  mine  eye  poureth  out  tears  unto  God ; 
21.  ^  That  he  would  maintain  the  right  of  a  man  with 

God, 

And  of  a  son  of  man  with  his  neighbour  ! 
2  2.  For  when  a  few  years  are  come, 

I  shall  go  the  way  whence  I  shall  not  return. 
17.  2  yiy  spirit  is  consumed,  my  days  are  extinct, 

1  m.  Or,  That  one  might  plead  for  a  man  with  God,  as  a  son  of  man  pleadeth  for  his 
neighbour.  2  Qj,  QLat.  Sah.  Eth.  /  am  ruined,  tortured  in  spirit;  I  long  for  the  grave 
and  do  not  find  it. 

beautiful  as  it  stands.  Buffeted  to  death  by  God  and  scorned  by 
his  friends,  Job  lifts  his  tear-stained  face  to  the  Almighty. 
Crushed  by  God  himself,  the  heart  still  flees  to  God  as  the  one 
source  of  consolation  and  justice. 

21.  That  he  would  maintain  the  right  of  a  man  with  God. 
The  text  is  to  be  preferred  to  the  margin.  The  thought  is  that 
God  should  become  with  himself  Job's  advocate.  In  9  :  33  he 
had  asked  for  a  daysman;  he  now  asks  that  God  himself  shall 
be  the  Daysman.  However  illogical  such  a  thought  may  seem, 
it  has  great  religious  depth,  and  has  in  one  form  or  another  found 
expression  in  many  religions.  The  Anselmic  doctrine  of  the 
Atonement,  that  God's  love  pleads  with  his  justice,  and  the  belief 
that  God  the  Son  pleads  with  God  the  Father  are  different  forms 
of  it.  Job,  of  course,  has  no  such  thought  as  either  of  these; 
he  is  thinking  rather  of  God's  tenderer  and  fairer  mood  pleading 
with  his  fierce  and  angry  one.  The  thought  that  underlies  all 
of  these  is  found  in  Islam  also  and  was  beautifully  expressed  by 
Mohammed,  "There  is  no  refuge  from  God  except  God  "  {Coran, 
Sura  9  :  119). 

22.  Few  years.  In  view  of  the  conviction  just  expressed  that 
death  was  near  (v.  17),  "few  years  "  seems  strange  and  out  of 
place.  We  should  probably  with  two  or  three  interpreters  make 
two  slight  changes  in  the  Hebrew  and  read : 

"  For  the  mourning  women  will  come 
And  I  shall  go  whence  I  shall  not  return." 

It  is  a  picturesque  and  poetical  way  of  speaking  of  his  death. 
The  vindication  which  he  expects  is  to  come  after  death  and  to 
affect  his  reputation  only.  He  has  no  hope  that  he  will  be  re- 
called from  Sheol  to  be  rewarded  by  happiness. 

I.  My   spirit   is   consumed,    etc.     The   verse   continues    the 

159 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


The  grave  is  ready  for  me. 

2.  ^  Surely  there  are  ^  mockers  with  me, 

And  mine  eye  abideth  ^  in  their  provocation. 

3.  Give  now  a  pledge,  be  surety  for  me  with  thyself ; 
Who  is  there  that  will  strike  hands  with  me  ? 

4.  For  thou  hast  hid  their  heart  from  understanding : 

*  Gr.  Sah.    /  have  cried  out.  2  m.  Heb.  mockery.     Gr.  Sah.  exhausted.    Vulg. 

/  have  not  sinned.  ^  Syr.  Vulg.  Ar.  «i  bitterness. 

thought  of  16:22.  He  had  said  that  the  mourning  women 
would  soon  come  and  he  would  go  to  that  bourn  from  which  no 
traveller  returns.  He  now  declares  that  he  is  ready  to  go ;  his 
tribulations  have  broken  his  spirit.  The  grave  is  ready  for  me. 
The  Hebrew  is  difficult,  the  versions  differ,  and  scholars  have 
proposed  many  emendations.  By  the  change  of  one  letter  of  the 
Hebrew  we  can  translate,  "The  grave  is  mine."  This  change 
we  should  probably  make. 

2.  Surely  there  are  mockers  with  me.  The  verse  is  supposed 
by  many  to  refer  to  Job's  friends,  but  all  recognize  that  it  is 
very  obscure  and  difficult.  As  Peake  has  said,  the  poet,  had  he 
intended  this  reference,  would  probably  have  expressed  it  more 
plainly.  The  versions  as  cited  above  differ  widely  and  one  can- 
not be  certain  about  the  meaning.  If,  however,  we  slightly  emend 
the  text  in  both  halves  of  the  verse  on  the  basis  of  the  Vulgate, 
Syriac  and  Arabic  versions,  it  would  read : 

"Although  there  is  no  sin  with  me, 
Yet  my  eye  abides  in  bitterness." 

The  verse  thus  rendered  gives  an  additional  reason  for  the  con- 
ditions described  in  v.  i. 

3.  Be  surety  for  me  with  thyself.  In  16  :  21  Job  had  appealed 
from  God  to  God,  i.e.  from  God's  present  mood  to  that  better 
mood  which  he  felt  sure  would  come  to  the  Almighty  when  he  would 
regret  the  harshness  of  his  present  treatment  of  Job  and  would 
vindicate  his  memory.  Job  now  asks  of  God  that  he  will  deposit 
with  himself  a  pledge  to  thus  vindicate  him.  Who  .  .  .  will 
strike  hands  with  me  ?  This  is  the  action  by  which  the  pledge  is 
sealed.  In  Babylonian  "he  struck  his  hand  "  means  to  conclude 
a  bargain.  In  reality  it  is  God  who  will,  Job  hopes,  make  the 
agreement.  His  thought  reminds  one  of  Heb.  6  :  13  :  "For  .  .  . 
God.  .  .  since  he  could  swear  by  no  greater,  sware  by  himself." 

4.  Thou  hast  hid  their  heart  from  understanding.  That  is,  the 
heart  of  all  others  but  thyself.     Perhaps  there  is  a  special  ref- 

160 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB  17 


Therefore  shalt  thou  not  exalt  them. 

5.  He  that  denounceth  his  friends  for  a  ^  prey, 
Even  the  eyes  of  his  children  shall  fail. 

6.  ^  He  hath  made  me  also  a  byword  of  the  people ; 
And  I  am  become  ^  an  open  abhorring. 

7.  Mine  eye  also  is  dim  by  reason  of  sorrow, 
And  all  my  members  are  as  a  shadow. 

8.  Upright  men  shall  be  astonied  at  this, 

And  the  innocent  shall  stir  up  himself  against 
the  godless. 

1  m.  Heb.  portion.    ^  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  Thou  hast.    '  m.  Or,  one  in  whose  face  they  spit. 

erence  to  his  friends.  Job  believes  that  he  can  be  understood 
only  by  God. 

5.  He  that  denounceth  his  friends  for  a  prey.  The  verse  is 
difficult,  and  many  interpretations  have  been  proposed  for  it. 
Probably  we  ought  with  Peake  to  change  the  pointing  of  the  verb 
rendered   "prey"   and  translate: 

"One  invites  friends  to  partake 
While  the  eyes  of  his  children  fail." 

We  should  then  take  the  verse  to  be  the  quotation  of  a  proverb 
illustrating  the  lack  of  understanding  spoken  of  in  v.  4.  It  wouM 
mean  "  men  are  so  foolish  that  they  keep  open  house  while  their 
own  children  starve;  how  can  they  be  expected,  then,  to  look 
beneath  appearances  and  do  justice  to  one  who  is  wronged? '' 

6.  He  hath  made  me  a  b5rword.  We  should  read  with  the 
versions  cited,  "Thou  hast  made  me  a  byword."  Job  turns  his 
address  to  God,  declaring  that  because  of  all  that  God  has  brought 
upon  him,  the  story  of  his  woes  will  be  told  everywhere  and  he  will 
be  regarded  as  an  object  of  scorn  because  men  will  believe  that  his 
sufferings  prove  him  to  have  been  wicked.  Underlying^  this  ad- 
dress to  God  there  is  a  further  reflection  upon  the  intelligence  of 
every  one  but  God.  Thus  the  thought  is  closely  connected  with  v.  4. 

7.  Mine  eye  has  become  dim.  Through  constant  weeping. 
All  my  members  are  as  a  shadow.  The  word  rendered  "  members  " 
may  be  rendered  "features."  In  either  case  the  reference  is  to 
the  wasting  of  his  form  through  illness. 

8.  Upright  men  shall  be  astonied  at  this.  Astonished  that  a 
man  whom  they  had  thought  righteous  should  so  suffer.  Stir 
up  himself  against  the  godless.     Those  who  regard  themselves  as 

M  161 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


9.  Yet  shall  the  righteous  hold  on  his  way, 

And  he  that  hath  clean  hands  shall  wax  stronger 
and  stronger. 

10.  But  return  ye,  all  of  you,  and  come  now : ' 

1  And  I  shall  not  find  a  wise  man  among  you. 

11.  My  days  are  past,  ^  my  purposes  ^  are  broken  off. 
Even  the  ^  thoughts  of  my  heart. 

1  m.  Or,  For  I  find  not.       2  Qr.  gah.  Eth.  in  rottenness.    OLat.  in  calamities.        ^  Gr. 
Sah.  OLat.  Eth.  connect  this  verb  with  the  last  clause.  ^  m.  Heb.  possessions. 

innocent  will  become  zealous  in  their  exhortations  to  the  godless, 
using  Job's  misfortunes  as  a  text  to  persuade  them  to  repent. 

9.  Yet  shall  the  righteous  hold  on  his  way.  As  we  have  noted 
above,  Job  has  expressed  the  conviction  that  he  will  ultimately  be 
vindicated  by  God  (16:19  S.).  He  here  expresses  the  belief 
that  something  of  his  own  hard-earned  faith  in  the  validity  of 
righteousness  will  be  shared  by  other  pure  souls.  In  spite  of 
God's  seeming  injustice  and  varying  moods,  they  will  have  faith 
enough  in  his  real  goodness  to  go  quietly  on  their  way  increasing 
in  strength.  Job  thus  attributes  to  others  his  own  heroic  res- 
olution. Duhm  and  Peake  have  thought  the  verses  an  inter- 
polation here,  but,  understood  as  suggested,  that  is  not  neces- 
sary. Davidson's  remark  is  justified,  "The  passage  is  perhaps 
the  most  surprising  and  lofty  in  the  book." 

(4)    Outwardly  Job  expects  Sheol  only,  17  :  10-16 

10.  But  return  ye.  An  address  to  his  friends.  He  does  not 
mean  to  imply  that  they  are  going  away :  the  words  are  rather 
an  invitation  to  them  to  repeat  their  arguments.  Not  find  a 
wise  man  among  you.  His  friends  were  not  wise  because  their 
arguments,  though  in  accord  with  tradition,  did  not  ring  true  to 
life. 

11.  My  purposes  are  broken  ofif.  The  Hebrew  of  the  line  is 
difficult,  and  probably  the  text  is  corrupt.  We  should  read  with 
the  versions  cited  above,  "in  rottenness"  instead  of  "my  pur- 
poses," and  connect  the  verb  with  the  last  half  of  the  verse. 
Even  the  thoughts  of  my  heart.  Instead  of  "  thoughts  "  we  should 
read  as  in  the  margin  "possessions."  The  whole  verse  with  the 
emended  text  would  read : 

"  My  days  are  passed  in  rottenness ; 
My  cherished  possessions  are  torn  away." 

The  verse  is  a  picture  of  Job's  desolate  condition. 

162 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB  j.^.  i, 


12.  1  They  change  the  night  into  day : 

The  light,   say  they,   is  near   ^  unto   the   dark- 
ness. 

13.  ^  If  I  look  for  ^  Sheol  as  mine  house ; 

If  I  have  spread  my  couch  in  the  darkness ; 

14.  If  I  have  said  to    ^  corruption,    Thou    art    my 

father ; 
To  the  worm,  TJiou  art  my  mother,  and  my  sister ; 

15.  Where  then  is  my  hope  ? 

And  as  for  ^  my  hope,  who  shall  see  it  ? 

1  Gr.  7  change.  «  m.  Or,  because  of  darkness.  3  m.  Or,  If  I  hope,  Sheol  is 

mine  house;  I  have  spread  .  .  .  I  have  said  .  .  .  and  where  is  now  my  hope?  <  m. 

Or,  the  grave.  6  m.  Qr,  the  pit.  s  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  my  goods. 

12.  They  change.  We  should  read  with  the  Greek,  "  I  change," 
as  it  suits  the  context  far|better.  The  light,  say  they,  is  near  unto 
darkness.  This  line  is  very  difficult  as  it  stands,  and  the  mar- 
ginal reading  does  not  improve  it.  Two  changes  in  the  Hebrew 
have  been  suggested  by  Duhm  and  Beer,  which  should  be  adopted 
with  slight  modification.  The  line  then  reads,  "Light  before  me 
is  darkness."     The  whole  verse  would  then  read : 

"I  change  the  night  into  day; 
Morning-light  before  me  is  darkness." 

It  is^  a  continuation  of  the   description  of  his  present  suffering 
condition  which  the  preceding  verse  began. 

13.  If  I  look,  etc.  We  should  read  with  the  margin,  "If  I 
hope." 

14.  My  father,  .  .  .  my  mother,  and  my  sister.  By  these  very 
vivid  metaphors  Job  expresses  the  close  kinship  of  the  decaying 
body  to  the  grave  and  its  repulsive  assistants. 

15.  Where  then  is  my  hope?  The  meaning  of  vs.  13-15  is 
this :  Job  had  said  that  death  was  near,  and  he  would  soon  be 
in  Sheol.  He  asks,  "  If  I  hope  for  Sheol  as  my  house,  if  I  have 
spread  my  couch  in  the  darkness  {i.e.  of  Sheol),  if  I  have  said  to 
the  pit  thou  art  my  father  and  to  the  worm,  my  mother  and  my 
sister,  where  then  is  my  hope  of  prosperity  that  you  are  prating 
about,  if  I  repent?  "  And  as  for  my  hope.  We  should  read  with 
the  versions  cited  above,  "Where  then  are  my  goods?"  i.e. 
my  earthly  goods  or  prosperity  of  which  you  speak. 

163 


17:  i6  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


1 6.  ^  It  shall  go  down  to  the  bars  of  ^  Sheol, 

^  When  once  there  is  rest  in  the  dust. 

9.   Bildad's  Second  Speech,  Ch.  18 

18.  Then  answered  Bildad  the  Shuhite,  and  said, 

2.  How  long  ^  will  ye  lay  snares  for  words  ? 
Consider,  and  ^  afterwards  we  will  speak. 

3.  Wherefore  are  we  counted  as  beasts, 
Aftd  are  become  unclean  in  ®  your  sight? 

4.  Thou  that  tearest  thyself  in  thine  anger, 
Shall  the  earth  be  forsaken  for  thee  ? 

1  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  Shall  they  go  down  to  Sheol  with  me?  2  m.  Or,  the  grave. 

»  Gr.  Syr.  Sah.  Eth.  Ar.  Or  shall  we  descend  to  the  dust  together?      «  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth. 
wilt  thou  make  an  end  of  words?        ^  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  omit  afterwards.  ^  Gr.  Sah. 

Eth.  thine  eyes. 

16.  Go  down  to  the  bars  of  Sheol.  The  text  is  corrupt  and 
should  be  corrected  with  the  versions  cited  above  so  as  to  read : 

"Shall  they  go  down  to  Sheol  with  me? 
Or  together  shall  we  descend  to  the  dust?  " 

The  reference  is  to  Job's  "goods  "  referred  to  in  v.  15,  and  gives 
further  sarcastic  point  to  the  question  there  asked. 

(i)    Why  is  Job  so  contemptuous  of  his  friends?  18  :  1-4 

2.  Will  ye  lay  snares.  The  text  is  undoubtedly  corrupt. 
Job  is  addressed  in  the  plural,  and  "snares  of  words  "  makes  no 
sense  here.  The  Hebrew  word  for  "snares,"  too,  occurs  nowhere 
else.  We  should  emend  the  text  on  the  basis  of  the  versions 
quoted  above  so  as  to  read : 

"How  long  wilt  thou  make  an  end  of  words? 
Consider,  and  we  will  speak." 

Bildad  wishes  to  secure  Job's  silence  and  attention. 

3.  Unclean.  The  Hebrew  word  means  "stupid,"  which  makes 
better  sense  here.  Your  sight.  We  should  emend  with  the  ver- 
sions to  "thy  sight." 

4.  Thou  that  tearest  thyself  in  thine  anger.  Job  had  in  16:9 
accused  God  of  tearing  him;  Bildad  replies  that  it  is  Job  who 
in  his  impotent  rage  is  tearing  himself.     Shall  the  earth  be  for- 

i6j. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB  i8:8 


Or  shall  the  rock  be  removed  out  of  its  place  ? 

5.  Yea,  the  light  of  the  wicked  shall  be  put  out, 
And  the  ^  spark  of  his  fire  shall  not  shine. 

6.  The  Hght  shall  be  dark  in  his  tent, 

And  his  lamp  ^  above  him  shall  be  put  out. 

7.  The  steps  of  his  strength  shall  be  straitened, 
And  his  own  counsel  shall  ^  cast  him  down. 

8.  For  ^  he  is  cast  into  a  net  by  his  own  feet. 
And  he  ^  walketh  upon  the  toils. 

^m.  Oi,  flame.  ^m,  Ot,  beside.  ^  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  cause  him  to  stumble. 

*  Gr.  Syr.  Sah.  Eth.  Ar.  his  foot  is  cast  into  a  net.  ^  Gr.  OLat.  rolls. 

saken  for  thee  .  .  .  the  rock  removed  out  of  its  place?  These 
are  figurative  expressions.  Bildad  means,  "  Shall  the  fixed  moral 
order  of  the  world  be  turned  upside  down  that  thou  mayest 
escape  the  deserved  imputation  of  wickedness?"  He  hits  upon 
one  of  the  real  faults  of  Job  as  a  sufferer  —  a  fault  common  to 
many  sufferers  —  he  is  thoroughly  self-centred. 

(2)    The  terrible  fate  of  the  wicked,  18  :  5-21 

5.  The  light  of  the  wicked  shall  be  put  out.  Bildad  now  turns 
to  repeat  again  the  tale  of  the  dire  punishments  of  the  wicked 
on  which  the  friends  have  dwelt  before.  The  figure  with  which 
he  begins  is  a  reference  to  the  emphasis  which  Job  had  put  upon 
the  darkness  of  Sheol  in  the  last  part  of  his  preceding  speech, 
see  17  :  12,  13. 

6.  His  lamp  above  him.  Which  hangs  from  the  roof  of  the 
tent.     Cf.   29  :  3. 

7.  The  steps  of  his  strength  shall  be  straitened.  This  is 
another  figure  of  the  misfortunes  of  the  wicked.  For  one  to 
make  wide  his  steps  is  an  oriental  figure  for  prosperity  (see  Ps. 
4:1).  The  figure  is  derived  from  the  wide  free  stride  of  the 
successful  and  confident  man.  The  unsuccessful  man  loses  self- 
confidence,  becomes  timorous,  and  takes  shorter,  cautious  steps 
(see  Pr.  4:  12).  Shall  cast  him  down.  It  is  better  by  trans- 
posing two  Hebrew  letters  to  read  with  the  versions  cited  above 
"shall  cause  him  to  stumble,"  thus  continuing  the  figure.  In- 
volved in  misfortune,  the  very  means  he  takes  to  extricate  him- 
self involve  him  more  deeply. 

8.  He  is  cast  into  a  net  by  his  own  feet.  We  should  read  with 
the  versions  quoted  above,  "his  own  foot  is  cast  into  [i.e.  thrust 
iiitol  a  net."     He  walketh  upon  the  toils.     The  reading  of  the 

165 


iSrg  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


9.   A  gin  shall  take  him  by  ^  the  heel, 
And  d,  snare  shall  lay  hold  on  him. 

10.  A  noose  is  hid  for  him  in  the  ground, 
And  a  trap  for  him  in  the  way, 

11.  Terrors  shall  make  him  afraid  on  every  side, 
And  shall  chase  him  at  his  heels. 

12.  His  strength  shall  be  hungerbitten, 

And  calamity  shall  be  ready  ^  for  his  halting. 

13.  It  shall  devour  the  ^  members  of  his  body, 

1  Syr.  Vulg.  his  heel.         2  m.  Or,  at  his  side.         ^  m.  Heb.  bars  of  his  skin. 

two  versions  cited  is  better,  "he  rolls  upon  the  toils."  This 
vividly  carries  on  the  preceding  figure.  As  he  walks  he  puts  his 
foot  into  a  net  and  goes  sprawling  on  the  toils. 

9.  By  the  heel.  The  two  versions  cited  above  read  "his  heel," 
which  is  better.  The  verse  repeats  in  other  words  the  thought  of  v.  8. 

10.  A  noose  is  hid  for  him  in  the  ground.  After  having  been 
caught  once  he  expects  traps  everywhere.  It  is  this  which  robs 
him  of  courage. 

11.  Terrors  shall  make  him  afraid  on  every  side.  This  aptly 
describes  a  man  robbed  of  his  nerve.  Chase  him  at  his  heels. 
He  is  not  sure  when  he  has  passed  a  point  that  it  has  no  terrors ; 
he  is  beset  behind  and  before. 

12.  His  strength  shall  be -hungerbitten.  This  is  an  unusual 
expression.  If  the  text  says  this,  the  meaning  is  that  famine 
overtakes  him.  As  the  text  stands,  however,  the  second  line  does 
not  form  a  good  parallelism.  Many  interpreters  accordingly  take 
the  word  rendered  "strength"  from  a  different  Hebrew  root, 
which  has  the  same  letters,  but  which  means  "sorrow  "  or  "  is- 
aster  "  and  render,  "His  disaster  is  hungry,"  i.e.  hungry  for  him, 
its  prey.  This  gives  a  better  parallel  to  the  second  half  of  the 
line.  For  his  halting.  Interpreters  are  divided  whether  to  read 
"halting"  as  in  the  text  or  "side"  as  in  the  margin.  The 
Hebrew  is  open  to  either  meaning  and  either  makes  good  sense. 

13.  Shall  devour  the  members  of  his  body.  The  margin  tells 
us  that  the  Hebrew  reads  "bars  of  his  skin."  This  is  a  peculiar 
phrase  upon  which  commentators  have  wasted  a  vast  amount  of 
ingenuity.  It  seems  impossible  to  give  it  a  satisfactory  mean- 
ing which  will  altogether  fit  the  context.  Several  scholars  haye 
noted  that  by  the  insertion  of  one  Hebrew  letter  we  should  obtain 
the  meaning,  "By  sickness   his  skin   shall  be  devoured."     This 

166 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB  18:15 


Yea,  the  firstborn  of  death  shall  devour  his  members. 

14.  ^He  shall  be  rooted  out  of  his  tent  wherein  he  trusteth ; 
And  2  he  shall  be  brought  to  the  king  of  terrors. 

15.  3  There  shall  dwell  in  his  tent  ^  that  which  is  none  of 

his: 
Brimstone  shall  be  scattered  upon  his  habitation. 

1  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  His  healing  shall  be  rooted  out  of  his  tent.         2  jjeb.  it  shall  (or 
thou  shalt)  bring  him.  ^  m.  Or,  It  shall  dwell  in  his  tent,  that  it  be  no  more  his,  or,  be- 

cause it  is  none  of. his.        *  i  Heb.  MS.  Theod.  Eth.  in  his  night. 

emendation  should  be  adopted.  The  firstborn  of  death.  This 
phrase  has  been  a  great  puzzle.  Some  have  thought  of  it  as 
elephantiasis,  the  disease  from  which  Job  was  suffering,  others 
as  the  worms  which  devour  the  body.  If  we  interpret  the  first 
line  as  above,  it  becomes  simply  the  sickness  there  referred  to. 

14.  He  shall  be  rooted  out  of  his  tent  wherein  he  trusted. 
The  Hebrew  as  it  stands  is  "his  tent,  his  trust  "  —  a  very  unusual 
expression.  We  should  emend  the  text  with  the  versions  cited  so  as 
to  read,  "His  healing  shall  be  rooted  out  of  his  tent."  The  verse 
continues  the  thought  of  the  preceding  verse.  He  shall  be  brought. 
We  should  read  with  the  margin,  "  It  shall  bring  him,"  i.e.  the  sick- 
ness shall  bring  him.     The  two  verses  together,  then,  are  read : 

"By  sickness  his  skin  shall  be  devoured. 
Death's  firstborn  shall  eat  his  members ; 
His  healing  shall  be  rooted  out  of  his  tent. 
And  it  shall  bring  him  to  the  king  of  terrors." 

15.  There  shall  dwell  in  his  tent  that  which  is  none  of  his. 

How  difficult  and  unusual  the  Hebrew  is,  is  indicated  by  the 
alternatives  given  in  the  margin.  That  the  present  text  had 
rivals  in  ancient  times  is  shown  by  the  MS.  and  versional  variant 
cited  above.  "In  his  night  "  cannot  have  been  the  true  sub- 
stitute for  "that  which  is  none  of  his,"  since  it  gives  no  meaning. 
Some  commentators  have  suggested  that  Lilith,  the  name  of 
a  night  demon  (cf.  Isa.  34:  14),  originally  stood  in  the  text  here. 
The  line  would  then  read,  "Lilith  shall  dwell  in  his  tent."  Duhm 
suggests  "Belial"  instead  of  "Lilith."  This  would  require 
fewer  changes  in  the  Hebrew,  but  does  not  seem  to  me  so  prob- 
able as  "Lilith."     The  verse  would  then  read: 

"Lilith  shall  dwell  in  his  tent. 
Brimstone  shall  be  scattered  upon  his  habitation." 

Brimstone.  Perhaps  an  allusion  to  the  destruction  of  the  cities 
of  the  plain,  Gen.  19 :  24. 

167 


i8:  i6  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


1 6.  His  roots  shall  be  dried  up  beneath, 
And  above  shall  his  branch  ^  be  cut  off. 

17.  His  remembrance  shall  perish  from  the  earth, 
And  he  shall  have  no  name  in  the  street. 

18.  He  shall  be  driven  from  light  into  darkness, 
And  chased  out  of  the  world. 

19.  He  shall  have  neither  son  nor  son's  son  among 

his  people. 
Nor  any  remaining  where  he  sojourned. 

20.  2  They  that  come  after  shall   be  astonied  ^  at  his 

day, 

1  m.  Or,  wither.    Theod.  Eth.  fall.  ^  m.  Or,  They  that  dwell  in  the  west  are  .  .  . 

as  they  that  dwell  in  the  east  are  b'c.  3  Qr.  gah.  Eth.  at  him. 

16.  His  roots  shall  be  dried  up.  The  comparison  is  now  changed 
from  a  man  who  dies  of  a  terrible  disease  and  whose  habitation 
becomes  desolate  to  that  of  a  dying  tree.     Cf.  Amos  2  :  9. 

17.  His  remembrance  shall  perish  from  the  earth.  This  was 
always  regarded  among  the  Hebrews  as  a  great  calamity,  see 
Deut.  9:14;  I  Sam.  24:21;  2  Sam.  14:7.  Instead  of  "earth " 
we  should  here  translate  "land."  "Earth"  makes  the  state- 
ment too  sweeping,  and  leaves  nothing  for  the  last  half  of  the 
verse  to  say.  In  the  street.  The  Hebrew  is  literally  "on  the 
face  of  outside."  Davidson  and  Peake  take  it  to  refer  to  the  more 
sparsely  settled  districts  ;  it  seems  rather  to  refer  to  regions  outside 
the  sinner's  own  land. 

18.  He  shall  be  driven  from,  etc.  The  verbs  in  the  Hebrew 
are  in  the  plural,  "They  shall  chase  him,"  etc.  Duhm  would 
make  the  verbs  singular  and  understand  "God  "  as  the  subject. 
The  thought  is  much  the  same  in  any  case. 

19.  Among  his  people.  That  is,  among  his  kinsmen  there  shall 
be  no  refugee  or  survivor  from  his  family.  Remaining  where 
he  sojourned.  It  is  better  to  translate,  "No  one  escaped  where 
he  sojourned,"  taking  the  last  clause  to  refer,  not  to  his  own 
dwelling,  but  to  the  dwellings  of  his  relations  whom  he  sometimes 
visited.     The  two  halves  of  the  verse  are  thus  synonymous. 

20.  They  that  come  after.  It  has  been  thought  by  some  inter- 
preters that  this  contradicts  v.  17,  which  declared  that  his  re- 
membrance should  perish  from  the  earth.  This  is  the  reason 
why  the  margin  renders,  "They  that  dwell  in  the  west  ,  .  , 

168 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB  19 


As  they  that  went  before  ^  were  affrighted. 
21.  Surely  such  are  the  dwellings  of  the  unrighteous, 

And  this  is  the  place  of  him  that  knoweth  not 
God. 

10.  Job^s  Reply  to  Bildad's  Second  Speech,  Ch.  19 

19.  Then  Job  answered  and  said, 

2.  How  long  will  ye  vex  my  soul, 

And  break  me  in  pieces  with  words  ? 

3.  These  ten  times  have  ye  reproached  me : 

Ye  are  not  ashamed  that  ye  ^  deal  hardly  with  me. 

1  m.  Heb.  laid  hold  on  horror.  ^  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  fall  upon  me. 

they  that  dwell  in  the  east."  Although  the  Hebrew  words  used 
do  not  have  this  meaning  elsewhere,  several  recent  interpreters 
favor  this  translation.  The  difi&culty  is,  however,  based  on  a 
misunderstanding  of  the  Hebrew  point  of  view  expressed  in  v.  17. 
"Name"  and  "remembrance"  are  often  in  the  Old  Testament 
synonyms  for  posterity  (see  Deut.  9  :  14;  i  Sam.  24  :  21 ;  i  Sam. 
14:7;  and  Ps.  72:17).  Bildad  was  not  saying  that  no  one 
would  hear  the  story  of  the  wicked  man,  but  that  he  would  leave 
no  posterity.  We  may,  therefore,  well  keep  the  rendering  given 
in  the  text.  At  his  day.  We  should  read  with  the  versions  cited, 
"at  him."  They  that  went  before.  How  could  his  predecessors 
be  frightened  at  him?  Perhaps,  as  has  been  suggested  by  several 
scholars,  because  he  came  down  to  Sheol  in  such  an  emaciated 
condition,  and  was  so  horrible  to  look  upon.  For  a  kindred 
thought  cf.  Isa.  14:  9  £f. 

21.  Such  are  the  dwellings  of  the  unrighteous.  The  verse 
simply  clinches  in  a  summary  the  point  of  the  whole  lurid  de- 
scription. 

(i)  He  remonstrates  against  persistently  unkind  criticism,  19:1-6 

2.  Break  me  in  pieces.  A  very  vivid  metaphor.  It  expresses 
the  effect  upon  Job's  nerves  of  the  reiterated  accusations  of  his 
friends. 

3.  Ten  times.  Used  as  in  Gen.  31:41  for  "several  times." 
Seven  and  eight  are  similarly  used  in  Micah  5:5.  Deal  hardly 
with  me.  We  should  read  with  the  versions  cited,  "fall  upon 
me."     It  vividly  describes  the  attacks  of  the  friends. 

169 


19:4  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


4.  And  be  it  indeed  that  I  have  erred, 
Mine  error  remaineth  with  myself. 

5.  ^  If  indeed  ye  will  magnify  yourselves  against  me, 
And  plead  against  me  ^  my  reproach : 

6.  Know  now  that  God  hath  ^  subverted  me  in  my  cause, 
And  hath  compassed  me  with  his  net. 

7.  Behold,  I  ^cry  out  of  wrong,  but  I  am  not  heard  : 
I  cry  for  help,  but  there  is  no  judgement. 

1  m.  Or,  Will  ye  indeed  .  .  .  reproach?  2  Qr.  Sah.  with  reproach.  '  m. 

Or,  overthrown  me.  *  m.  Or,  cry  out,  Violence  I 

4.  Be  it  indeed  that  I  have  erred.  Job  does  not  admit  that  he 
has.  He  still  feels  confident  that  he  has  not.  He  makes  the 
supposition  here  for  the  sake  of  argument.  Mine  error  remaineth 
with  myself.  The  meaning  of  this  phrase  is  ambiguous.  It 
might  mean,  My  sin  is  my  own  concern  and  is  no  business  of  yours, 
or,  My  sin  does  not  injure  you,  it  hurts  no  one  but  myself,  or,  I 
only  know  my  sin,  while  you  can  simply  guess  at  it.  Probably, 
as  Peake  has  noted,  the  second  meaning  is  the  one  intended,  since 
Job  had  said  to  God  in  7  :  20,  "  If  I  have  sinned,  what  do  I  unto 
thee,  O  thou  Watcher  of  men?  "  showing  that  the  thought  that 
his  sin  could  not  injure  another  was  a  familiar  one  to  him. 

5.  If  indeed  ye  will  magnify  yourselves.  The  margin  reads 
this  as  a  question,  which  would  be  simply  a  difference  of  rhetorical 
form.  In  either  case  the  verse  begins  a  condition  which  is  com- 
pleted in  V.  6.  Plead  against  me  my  reproach.  Might  be 
translated,  ''prove  against  me  my  reproach."  In  that  case  it  would 
mean,  "  prove  to  your  own  satisfaction  my  reproach."  Some  inter- 
preters emend  "my  reproach"  to  "  with  reproach  "  on  the  basis  of 
the  versions  quoted  above,  but  the  text  is  better  as  it  stands. 

6.  Know  now  that  God  hath  subverted  me.  Has  deprived 
me  of  justice.  He  means  to  declare  that  his  misfortunes  have 
not  been  brought  upon  him  by  his  sins,  but  by  God's  injustice 
to  him.  Compassed  me  with  his  net.  This  is  a  reference  to  the 
statement  of  Bildad  in  18  :  8,  that  the  wicked  man  is  cast  into  a  net 
by  his  own  feet.   Job  declares  that  God  has  cast  hifn  into  this  net. 

(2)    Job  vainly  cries  for  help,  19  :  7-12. 

7.  Cry  out  of  wrong.  It  is  better  to  read  with  the  margin, 
"I  cry  out,  Violence  !  "  I  am  not  heard.  Like  many  another  he 
feels  that  he  prays  in  vain.  Thus  the  author  of  Lamentations  (3  :  8) 
says,  "  When  I  cry  and  call  for  help,  he  shutteth  out  my  prayer." 

170 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB  19:  12 


8.  He  hath  fenced  up  my  way  that  I  cannot  pass, 
And  hath  set  darkness  in  my  paths. 

9.  He  hath  stripped  me  of  my  glory, 
And  taken  the  crown  from  my  head. 

10.  He  hath  broken  me  down  on  every  side,  and  I  am  gone ; 
And  mine  hope  hath  he  plucked  up  like  a  tree. 

11.  He  hath  also  kindled  his  wrath  against  me. 

And  he  counteth  me  unto  him  ^  as  one  of\n.^  adversaries. 

12.  His  troops  come  on  together,  and  cast  up  their  way 

against  me, 


Gr.  Syr.  Sah.  Eth.  Ar.  as  an  enemy. 


8.  He  hath  fenced  up  my  way.  It  is  a  very  forceful  figure,  and 
one  that  Job  had  used  before  (3:23;  13:27;  14:5)-  It  is 
also  employed  in  Hosea  2  :  6  and  Lam.  3:7,  9.  Some  of  the 
passages  which  use  it  employ  the  term  "hedge,"  some,  the  term 
"  wall."  The  high,  thorny,  impassable  cactus  hedges  of  some  parts 
of  Palestine,  or  the  gigantic  stone  walls  of  other  portions,  ef- 
fectually bar  one's  path.  Job  feels  that  he  has  been  walking  in 
a  path  thus  bordered,  and  has  suddenly  come  to  a  point  where 
the  high  impassable  fence  extends  also  directly  across  the  way. 
Hath  set  darkness  in  my  paths.  The  metaphor  is  changed. 
Now  it  is  not  a  fence,  but  thick  darkness,  which  prevents  progress. 

9.  Stripped  me  of  my  glory.  A  reference  to  the  loss  of  his 
possessions.  These  in  the  eyes  of  the  multitude  constitute  glory. 
The  crown  from  my  head.  His  reputation  for  righteousness; 
this  in  29 :  14  is  called  his  crown.  The  possessions  and  the 
reputation  are  closely  connected,  for  it  was  the  loss  of  posses- 
sions which  took  away  his  reputation  for  righteousness  by  con- 
vincing men  that  he  was  a  sinner. 

10.  Hath  broken  me  down.  The  Hebrew  verb  is  one  employed 
to  describe  the  pulling  down  of  structures,  such  as  altars,  walls, 
and  buildings.  Job  represents  God  as  destroying  him  like  an 
old  building.  Mine  hope  hath  he  plucked  up.  An  antithesis 
in  the  parallelism  is  produced  by  the  way  the  contrasting  figures 
are  brought  together. 

11.  Kindled  his  wrath.  The  metaphor  changes  once  more. 
As  in  10:  17,  the  figure  is  borrowed  from  warfare.  One  of  his 
adversaries.  It  is  better  with  the  versions  cited  to  read  simply, 
"as  his  enemy." 

12.  Cast  up  their  way.     An  embankment  or  rampart  from 

171 


19 :  13  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


And  encamp  round  about  my  tent. 

13.  ^  He  hath  put  my  brethren  far  from  me, 

And   mine   acquaintance   are   wholly   estranged 
from  me. 

14.  My  kinsfolk  have  failed, 

And  my  familiar  friends  have  forgotten  me. 

15.  They  that  ^  dwell  in  mine  house,  and  my  maids, 

count  me  for  a  stranger  : 
I  am  an  alien  in  their  sight. 

16.  I  call   unto  my  servant,  and  he  giveth  me  no 

answer, 

1 1  Heb.  MS.  Gr.  Aq.  Sym.  Syr.  Sah.  Eth.  Ar.  My  brethren  are  removed  far  from  me. 
2  m.  Or,  sojourn. 

which  to  attack  a  fortress.  My  tent.  The  expression  seems  in- 
congruous after  the  strong  military  figure  which  has  preceded,  and 
the  word  is  omitted  by  the  Gr.  Sah.  and  Eth.  We  have  no  clue, 
however,  as  to  what  to  put  in  its  place. 

(3)    He  is  forsaken  by  all,  19:  13-19 

13.  He  hath  put  my  brethren  far  from  me.  We  should  read 
with  the  authorities  cited  above,  "  My  brethren  are  removed  far 
from  me."  In  this  and  the  following  verses  Job  dwells  upon  his 
lonely  condition.  Wholly  estranged  from  me.  By  combining 
the  Hebrew  letters  differently  some  scholars  would  obtain  the 
meaning,  "My  acquaintance  are  fierce  against  me."  This  is 
possible,  but  does  not  fit  the  context  so  well. 

14.  My  kinsfolk  have  failed.  The  lines  of  the  verse  are  too 
short  and  the  first  line  of  v.  15  too  long.  We  should  probably, 
as  several  scholars  have  seen,  divide  thus,  slightly  modifying  one 
Hebrew  word : 

"  My  kinsfolk  have  ceased  to  know  me. 
They  that  dwell  in  my  house  have  forgotten  me." 

15.  They  that  dwell  in  mine  house.  This,  as  already  noted,  is 
a  part  of  the  last  sentence  of  the  preceding  verse.  My  maids. 
The  verse  reads,  when  reduced  to  its  proper  proportions  by 
attaching  a  part  to  v,  14 : 

"  My  maids  count  me  for  a  stranger, 
I  am  an  alien  in  their  sight." 

16.  He  giveth  me  no  answer.     Oriental  servants  ordinarily  are 

172 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


Though  I  intreat  him  with  my  mouth. 

17.  My  breath  is  strange  to  my  wife, 

And  1  my  suppHcation  to  the  children  ^  of  my 
mother's  womb. 

18.  Even  young  children  despise  me ; 

1  m.  Or,  /  make  supplication,  or,  /  am  loathsome.  2  m.  Qr,  of  my  body.     Sym.  my 

children.     Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  tfie  children  of  my  concubines. 

most  obsequious  to  their  masters  (see  Ps.  123  :  2) ;  when  this  is 
remembered,  the  low  estate  to  which  Job  had  fallen  is  obvious. 
Though  I  intreat  him.  We  might  better  translate,  "With  my 
mouth  I  must  entreat  him." 

17.  My  breath  is  strange  to  my  wife.  Most  scholars  take  the 
word  "  strange  "  to  mean  "  offensive, "  though  some  derive  the  He- 
brew word  from  a  root  which  means  "loathsome  "  and  render, 
"  My  breath  is  loathsome  to  my  wife."  It  is  possible,  however,  that 
"strange"  is  the  word  that  belongs  here,  and  that  Job  meant 
to  say  that  his  wife  avoided  him  —  using  this  figure  to  express 
the  thought  that  she  did  not  come  near  him.  And  my  supplica- 
tion. We  should  read  with  the  margin,  "I  make  supplication." 
Children  of  my  mother's  womb.  The  word  "mother,"  as  the 
italics  show,  is  supplied  by  the  revisers.  The  Hebrew  word 
rendered  "womb"  has  really  the  signification  "belly,"  and 
though  sometimes  used  for  womb,  is  also  used  in  a  similar  con- 
nection for  the  loins  of  a  man  (see  Micah  6:  7  and  Ps.  132  :  11). 
The  Hebrew  is  "I  supplicate  the  children  of  my  body."_  Sym- 
machus  supports  this  by  translating  simply  "my  children." 
The  objection  to  reading  this  is  that  his  children  according  to 
the  prologue  have  all  been  killed.  Does  the  poet  make  Job  for- 
get it  for  a  moment?  Has  the  poet,  who  did  not  write  the  pro- 
logue, forgotten  it?  Or  are  we  to  understand,  as  the  three 
versions  quoted  above  did,  that  he  referred  to  children  by  con- 
cubines? The  prologue  and  epilogue  give  the  impression  that 
Job  was  a  monogamist.  Many  interpreters  accordingly  feel 
compelled  to  adopt  the  reading  of  the  revisers  and  supply  the 
word  "mother,"  thus  making  him  address  his  entreaty  to  his 
brothers.  "Children,"  following  the  word  "wife,"  would,  how- 
ever, more  naturally  be  his  own.  We  must  remember,  too,  that 
in  the  ancient  Orient  almost  no  man  of  the  wealth  and  dignity 
of  Job  failed  to  have  children  by  slave-girls  or  concubines.  There 
is  no  reason,  therefore,  why  the  poet  should  have  felt  any  hesita- 
tion here  in  making  Job  refer  to  children  of  his  own. 

18.  Young  children  despise  me.     Once  young  men  regarded 

173 


19  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


If  I  arise,  they  speak  against  me. 

19.  All  ^  my  inward  friends  abhor  me  : 

And  they  whom  I  loved  are  turned  against  me. 

20.  2  -^y  3  bone  cleaveth  to  my  skin  and  to  my  flesh, 
And  I  am  escaped  with  the  ^  skin  of  my  teeth. 

21.  Have  pity  upon  me,  have  pity  upon  me,  O  ye 

my  friends ; 

1  m.  Heb.  the  men  of  my  council.     Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  those  who  see  me.      2  Gr.  Sah. 
My  flesh  rots  in  my  skin.  ^  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  put  bones  in  the  last  half  of  the 

verse.        *  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  omit  skin. 

him  with  awe  (cf.  29 :  8),  but  now  even  children  laugh  at  him  as 
they  see  him  try  to  get  up  and  hobble  about ;  cf.  30  :  i  and  8-10. 

19.  All  my  inward  friends.  The  Hebrew,  as  the  margin 
shows,  means  "men  of  my  council,"  i.e.  his  intimate  associates. 
It  is  a  strong,  fine  expression.  The  versions  quoted  above  lost 
the  fine  edge  of  the  phrase. 

(4)  He  appeals  to  his  friends  for  pity;   19:  20-22 

20.  My  bone  cleaveth  to  my  skin  and  to  my  flesh.  A  very 
curious  statement.  One  can  understand  how,  if  a  man  is  ema- 
ciated, his  bones  may  be  said  to  cleave  to  his  skin,  but  "flesh  " 
makes  nonsense  of  it.  One  must  either  strike  out  "flesh"  as 
many  modern  scholars  do,  or  adopt  the  reading  of  the  Or.  and 
other  versions  quoted  above,  "My  flesh  rots  in  my  skin."  I  am 
escaped  with  the  skin  of  my  teeth.  This  is  a  very  puzzling 
statement.  The  phrase  has  become  a  proverb,  but  that  does 
not  aid  us  in  understanding  it  here.  Some  have  taken  it  to 
refer  to  the  gums,  and  to  mean  that  the  leprosy  had  not  yet 
reached  these.  This  is,  however,  prosaic  and  improbable.  The 
fact  that  the  word  "skin"  occurs  twice  in  the  verse  is  thought 
by  some  to  be  suspicious,  especially  as  several  versions  omit  it 
here.  They  accordingly  substitute  for  it  "flesh"  and  read,  "I 
take  my  flesh  in  my  teeth,"  making  Job  repeat  what  he  had  said 
in  13  :  14.  This,  however,  does  not  fit  the  context  and  seems 
improbable.  It  is  better,  since  the  teeth  have  no  skin,  to  take 
the  expression  as  a  vigorous  way  of  saying,  "I  am  escaped  with 
nothing  at  all."  In  this  case  we  should  drop  the  word  "flesh  " 
out  of  the  first  line,  making  the  sense  of  the  verse :  — 

"  My  bones  cleave  to  my  skin, 
I  am  escaped  with  nothing  at  all." 

21.  Have  pity  upon  me,  O  ye  my  friends.  The  recital  of  his 
woes  moves  Job  to  this  touching  appeal.     From  many  points 

174 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


22. 

23- 
24. 


For  the  hand  of  God  hath  touched  me. 
Why  do  ye  persecute  me  as  God, 
And  are  not  satisfied  with  my  flesh  ? 
Oh  that  my  words  were  now  written  ! 
1  Oh  that  they  were  inscribed  in  a  book  ! 
That  with  an  iron  pen  and  lead 


Syr.  At.  A  fid  were  inscribed  in  a  book. 


of  view  it  is  one  of  the  finest  artistic  touches  in  the  poem. 
Nothing  could  more  graphically  illustrate  Job's  humiliation  than 
that  he,  the  proud,  strong  man,  who  has  poured  out  upon  his 
friends  his  scorn  without  stint,  humbly  supplicates  them  for  pity. 
This  vain  appeal  to  men  also  sets  oflf  with  great  force  the  ex- 
pression which  follows  of  confidence  in  God.  The  mental  re- 
vulsion in  this  vain  appeal  to  his  friends  brings  back  the  con- 
fidence in  God  which  he  had  twice  expressed  before,  and  now  the 
feeling  comes  with  renewed  force,  carrying  him  to  heights  which 
no  one  before  had  experienced.  The  hand  of  God  hath  touched 
me.  Instead  of  "touched"  we  should  read  "smitten."  Com- 
pare the  smiting  of  the  Servant  of  Yahweh,  Isa.  53  :  4-9.  There 
is  fine  irony  in  this  ground  for  pity  which  Job  urges.  These 
sycophants  of  God,  as  he  has  called  them,  could  hardly  be  ex- 
pected to  pity  one  whom  God  has  smitten. 

22.  Persecute  me  as  God.  The  persistent  criticisms  of  the 
friends  seemed  to  Job  as  relentless  as  the  successive  blows 
showered  upon  him  by  God.  Satisfied  with  my  flesh.  "To  eat 
the  pieces  "  of  a  person  is  an  Aramaic  idiom  for  slandering  him. 
This  is  a  similar  idiom. 

(5)  Faith  born  out  of  despair,  19;  23-29 

23.  Oh  that  my  words  were  now  written  !  Appeal  to  his  friends 
was  vain.  Job  feels  that  all  his  contemporaries  misunderstood 
him.  No  present  vindication  is  possible.  The  thought  arises, 
however,  that,  if  the  story  could  survive  to  posterity,  those  who 
came  after  would  reach  a  more  just  decision  concerning  him: 
hence  the  expressions  in  this  verse.  In  a  book.  The  word  does 
not  necessarily  mean  a  book,  but  a  "writing  "  or  "document  "  — 
something  which  may  survive  after  Job  has  gone. 

24.  With  an  iron  pen  and  lead.  The  expression  is  peculiar. 
Many  interpreters  take  it  to  mean  an  inscription  cut  with  iron 
in  a  rock,  the  letters  of  which  were  filled  in  with  lead  to  prevent 
erosion  by  the  weather.     So  far  as  appears,  such  an  inscription 

17s 


THE  BOOK   OF  JOB 


They  were  graven  in  the  rock  ^  for  ever  ! 
25.  2  But  I  know  that  my  ^  redeemer  Uveth, 

And  that  he  shall  stand  up  at  the  last  upon  the 
^  earth : 

1  Theod.  for  a  witness.    2  m.  Or,  For.    '  m.  Or,  vindicator.  Heb.  god.    *  m.  Heb.  dust. 

has  not  been  found  in  antiquity.  Others,  accordingly,  take  it 
to  refer  to  an  inscription  made  on  a  tablet  of  lead  with  an  iron 
stylus.  The  form  of  the  expression  is  not  very  natural,  if  this 
is  the  meaning,  but  such  inscriptions  were  known.  Graven  on 
the  rock  for  ever.  Job  changed  from  the  wish  for  an  account  in 
an  ordinary  book  or  document  because  of  the  perishable  nature 
of  the  material.  His  thought  passes  on  to  a  rock  inscription, 
which,  he  declares,   will  last  forever. 

25.  But  I  know.  This  is  much  better  than  the  marginal  read- 
ing "for  I  know."  What  Job  means  to  say  is  that  his  wish  for 
an  imperishable  writing  to  keep  alive  his  memory  for  the  fairer 
judgment  of  posterity  is  impracticable.  Suddenly,  however, 
the  conviction  for  which  his  previous  thoughts  had  prepared  the 
way  (see  13  :  16  and  16 :  19)  bursts  in  upon  his  soul,  and  he  sees 
that  his  vindicator  is  none  other  than  God.  He  casts  aside  the 
passing  thought  of  an  impracticable  writing  to  give  expression  to 
this  great  conviction.  Redeemer.  The  word  in  Hebrew  is  goel. 
As  this  word  is  used  in  Num.  35  :  19  ff.  ;  Deut.  19  :  6  and  12  ;  and 
Josh.  20  :  3  and  5  in  the  phrase  "avenger  of  blood,"  some  scholars 
would  translate,  "I  know  that  my  avenger  liveth."  This  is  inap- 
propriate here,  since  Job's  blood  had  not  been  shed  and  the  con- 
text does  not  exhibit  him  in  an  avenging  mood.  He  does  not 
desire  vengeance,  but  justice.  Goel  in  the  book  of  Ruth  means 
one  who  honoraljly  keeps  alive  the  memory  of  a  kinsman  (see 
Ruth,  ch.  4).  Job  uses  it  to  designate  one  who  will  vindicate  his 
name  and  make  his  memory  honored  by  posterity.  The  trans- 
lation "redeemer  "  is  unfortunate,  as  it  long  led  scholars  to  think 
that  Job  was  looking  forward  to  Christ,  while  the  thought  really 
expressed  is  something  quite  different.  He  shall  stand  up. 
Literally,  "he  shall  arise."  At  the  last.  The  word  in  the  Hebrew 
is  an  adjective.  As  in  Isa.  44:  6  and  48:  12  it,  like  goel,  applies 
to  God,  meaning  "  a  Last  One."  Upon  the  earth.  As  the  margin 
tells  us,  the  Hebrew  is  "  upon  the  dust."  It  probably  refers  to 
ashes,  into  which  Job's  form  will  be  turned. 

The  conviction  expressed  in  the  verse  is  that  Job's  Vindicator, 
God,  Hves,  and  that  as  a  Last  One  [i.e.  one  whose  work  can  never 
be  undone  by  another]  he  will  one  day  stand  over  Job's  ashes. 

176 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


26.  ^  And  after  my  skin  hath  been  thus  destroyed, 
Yet  ^  from  my  flesh  shall  I  see  God : 

27.  Whom  I  shall  see  ^  for  myself, 

And  mine  eyes  shall  behold,  and  not  ^  another. 

1  m.  Or,  And  after  my  skin  hath  been  destroyed,  this  shall  be,  even  from  6*c.     Or,  And 
though  after  my  skin  this  hody  be  destroyed,  yet  from  ^c.         ^  m.  Or,  without.  ^  m. 

Or,  on  my  side.  *  m.  Or,  as  a  stranger. 


26.  After  my  skin  hath  been  thus  destroyed.  The  verse  is  a 
very  difficult  one.  The  revisers  recognized  this  by  giving  us 
three  translations  of  it.  Many  recent  commentators  have  also 
freely  emended  the  Hebrew  text.  The  text  is  pretty  well  sup- 
ported by  the  versions,  however,  and  should  probably  stand  as 
it  is.  Whichever  one  of  the  three  renderings  of  the  first  line  is 
adopted,  it  is  clear  that  Job  is  speaking  of  the  dissolution  of  the 
body.  The  easiest  rendering  is  that  which  supposes  "skin" 
to  be  used  as  a  synonym  of  body.  This  continues  the  thought 
of  V.  25.  From  my  flesh.  Is  ambiguous.  It  may  mean  "with- 
out my  flesh,"  or  "looking  out  from  my  flesh."  This  last  would 
mean,  "while  still  in  my  body,"  a  thought  which  is  quite  out  of 
harmony  with  the  context  in  v.  25.  It  is,  accordingly,  to  be  con- 
cluded that  he  means  to  say,  "  Without  my  flesh  Shall  I  see 
God."  This  is  a  new  thought  —  a  magnificent  leap  of  faith ! 
The  body  may  perish,  but  the  real  man  will  see  God.  It  is  no 
argument  against  its  genuineness  here  that  Job  has  elsewhere 
(ch.  3,  etc.)  expressed  a  different  opinion.  The  poem  graphically 
portrays  the  free  expression  of  the  varying  moods  and  contra- 
dictory opinions  of  a  sick  man.  The  gradual  emergence  in  his 
thought  of  God's  moral  integrity  and  that  God  would  be  his 
Vindicator  had  prepared  the  way  for  this  new  insight.  It  is 
no  argument  against  it  that  nowhere  else  in  the  Old  Testament 
do  we  havethe  conception  of  the  spirit  surviving  without  a  body 
to  gain  a  vision  of  God.  It  is,  however,  a  great  poetic  thought. 
It  was  the  insight  of  a  genius  great  in  intellect  and  in  religious 
power  which  put  these  words  into  the  mouth  of  a  sufferer. 

27.  For  myself.  The  marginal  rendering  is  possible,  but  the 
text  is  to  be  preferred.  Job  is  asserting  that  he  shall  himself  see 
God,  and  makes  the  fact  that  it  will  really  be  himself  as  emphatic 
as  possible.  And  not  another.  We  should  read,  "and  not  as  a 
stranger."  The  Hebrew  word  means  "stranger"  and  it  gives 
a  fine  signification  here.  Job  has  complained  that  God  is  es- 
tranged; he  longed  for  reconciliation  (14:  13  ff.) ;  he  had  ex- 
pressed the  conviction  that  God  would  vindicate  him  (16 :  19) ; 

N  177 


19:28  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


My  reins  are  consumed  within  me. 

28.  If  ye  say,  How  we  will  persecute  him  ! 

^  Seeing  that  the  root  of  the  matter  is  found  in 
*me; 

29.  Be  ye  afraid  of  the  sword  : 

2  For  ^  wrath  hringeth  the  punishments  of  the  sword, 
That  ye  may  know  there  is  a  judgement. 

1  m.  Or,  And  that.  2  m.  Many  ancient  authorities  read  him.  These  authorities 
are  about  100  Heb.  MSS.  the  Gr.  Sah.  Vulg.  Targ.  Eth.  3  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  For  wrath 
shall  come  upon  the  iniquitous.         *  m.  Or,  wrathful  are. 

and  now  in  expressing  his  conviction  that  he  should  see  God  he 
declares  that  God  will  be  a  stranger  no  more.  God's  mood  of 
estrangement  will  then  have  passed.  It  is  another  fine  leap  of 
his  faith  in  God,  i.e.  in  God's  essential  goodness,  whatever  his  pres- 
ent mood  may  be.  My  reins  are  consumed  within  me.  That 
is,  my  whole  being  longs  for  this.  "Reins  "  are  often  used  in  the 
Old  Testament  for  the  feelings  or  whole  inner  nature. 

28.  How  we  will  persecute  him.  The  verse  brings  us  back 
from  Job's  fine  outburst  of  faith  in  God  and  the  future  to  the 
realities  of  his  present  unsympathetic  surroundings  upon  earth. 
He  addresses  his  friends,  and  assumes  that  they  are  nursing 
plans  further  to  push  their  investigations  into  his  case,  or  to  ply 
him  with  their  exhortations.  The  root  of  the  matter  is  found 
in  me.  We  should  rather  translate,  emending  the  text  according 
to  the  "ancient  authorities  "  quoted  above,  "and  we  will  find 
the  root  of  the  matter  in  him."  The  "root  of  the  matter  "  is  a 
vague  expression  and  has  been  thought  by  some  to  refer  to  Job's 
sincerity  ;  but,  if  we  take  the  verse  as  already  suggested,  it  would 
mean  "we  shall  find  the  root  of  his  suffering  [i.e.  his  sin]  in  him." 

29.  Be  ye  afraid  of  the  sword.  God  is  just.  Job  feels  assured 
that  he  will  vindicate  his  reputation.  In  some  way  then  he 
will  punish  these  unjust  friends.  For  wrath  bringeth  the  punish- 
ments of  the  sword.  We  should  read  with  the  versions  cited, 
"For  wrath  cometh  upon  the  iniquitous."  That  the  sword  was 
to  be  the  instrument  of  "wrath  "  the  previous  line  suggests. 
That  ye  may  know  there  is  a  judgement.  This,  in  Job's  thought, 
was  to  be  the  purpose  of  their  punishment.  It  is  an  incon- 
sistency of  human  nature,  which  the  poet  has  well  illustrated, 
that  even  in  the  moment  when  his  faith  takes  its  greatest  flight. 
Job  can  think  of  punishment  as  coming  upon  his  friends  for  the 
very  purpose  for  which  they  contended  it  had  come  upon  him. 

178 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


II.   Zophar's  Second  Speech  —  the  Brevity  of  the  Joy  of  the 
Wicked,  Ch.  20 

20.       Then  answered  Zophar  the  ^  Naamathite,  and  said, 

2.  2  Therefore  do  my  thoughts  give  answer  to  me, 
3  Even  by  reason  of  my  haste  that  is  in  me. 

3.  I  have  heard  the  reproof  which  putteth  me  to 

shame, 
^  And  the  spirit  of  my  understanding  answereth 
me. 

4.  Knowest  thou  not  this  of  old  time, 
Since  man  was  placed  upon  earth, 

5.  That  the  triumphing  of  the  wicked  is  short, 


1  Gr.  Sah.  the  Minaan.  2  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  Not  so.  3  Gr.  OLat  Sah 

Eth.  This.     m.  Or,  And  by  reason  of  this  my  haste  is  within  me.  <  Gr.  Theod  Sah" 

Wind  void  of  understanding  answers  me.     m.  Or,  But  out  of  my  understanding  mv  si>irit 
answereth  me.  ^     j- o^*,..* 


2.  Therefore  do  my  thoughts  give  answer  to  me.  We  should 
read  with  the  versions  cited  above,  ''Not  so  do  my  thoughts  give 
answer  to  me."  To  Zophar  it  seemed  incredible  that  such  hopes 
as  those  expressed  by  Job  at  the  end  of  ch.  19,  that  God  would 
vindicate  him  and  give  him  a  vision  of  Himself,  should  be  enter- 
tained by  a  sinner.  Job's  chastisements,  too,  proved  him  a 
sinner.  With  reference  to  this  he  accordingly  exclaims,  "Not 
so  do  my  thoughts  answer  me !  "  Even  by  reason  of  my  haste. 
We  should  read  with  the  margin,  "And  by  reason  of  this  my  haste 
is  within  me."  Zophar's  strong  dissent  from  Job's  statements 
impelled  him  to  answer  quickly. 

3.  The  reproof  which  putteth  me  to  shame.  A  reference  to 
Job's  words.  The  spirit  of  my  understanding  answereth  me. 
Neither  the  rendering  of  the  text  nor  of  the  margin  affords  a 
good  meaning.  We  should  emend  with  the  versions  quoted 
above,  and  render,  "Wind  void  of  understanding  answers  me." 
The  hne  still  refers  to  Job's  reply,  and,  like  Eliphaz  (15  :  2), 
Zophar  calls  that  reply  wind. 

4.  Knowest  thou  not  this  of  old  time?  The  question  refers 
to  the  verses  which  follow. 

5.  The  triumphing  of  the  wicked  is  short.  This  is  the  theme 
on  which  each  of  the  friends  has  harped  in  former  speeches. 

179 


THE  BOOK   OF  JOB 


And  the  joy  of  the  godless  but  for  a  moment  ? 

6.  Though  his  excellency  mount  up  to  the  heavens, 
And  his  head  reach  unto  the  clouds ; 

7.  Yet  he  shall  perish  for  ever  like  his  own  dung : 
They  which  have  seen  him  shall  say,  Where  is  he  ? 

8.  He  shall  fly  away  as  a  dream,  and  shall  not  be 

found : 
Yea,  he  shall  ^  be  chased  away  as  a  vision  of  the 
night. 

9.  ^  The  eye  which  saw  him  shall  see  him  no  more ; 
Neither  shall  his  place  any  more  behold  him. 

10.  ^  His  children  shall  seek  the  favour  of  the  poor, 

And  his  hands  shall  give  back  his  wealth. 

^  Gr.  Syr.  Vulg.  Sah.  Eth.  Ar.  disappear.        2  xhis  verse  is  omitted  by  the  Gr.  and 
Sah.  '  m.  Or,  as  otherwise  read,  The  poor  shall  oppress  his  children.     Syr. 

Vulg.  Ar.  His  sons  shall  be  crushed  by  poverty. 

6.  His  head  reach  unto  the  clouds.  The  verse  contains  two 
exaggerated  statements  of  the  self-importance  and  pride  of  a 
prosperous  man. 

7.  Perish  for  ever  like  his  own  dung.  A  very  forcible  simile, 
even  if  not  elegant. 

8.  Be  chased  away  as  a  vision  of  the  night.  We  should  read 
with  the  versions  cited  above,  "he  shall  disappear."  A  dream 
does  not  have  to  be  chased  away.  The  verse  adds  to  the  meta- 
phors which  illustrate  the  transitoriness  of  the  wicked  man's 
career. 

9.  The  eye  which  saw  him  shall  see  him  no  more.  Because 
the  verse  is  omitted  by  the  versions  cited  above,  some  modern 
scholars  take  it  to  be  a  gloss.  As  Budde  remarks,  however,  it  does 
not  appear  as  a  gloss.  The  poet  may  well  have  added  this  state- 
ment of  the  complete  disappearance  of  the  wicked. 

ID.  His  children  shall  seek  the  favour  of  the  poor.  If  we 
retain  the  present  Hebrew  text,  the  rendering  of  the  margin  is  to 
be  preferred,  "The  poor  shall  oppress  his  children."  This  state- 
ment affords  a  striking  contrast  to  the  once  proud  position  of  the 
rich  man.  Probably,  however,  we  should  slightly  change  the 
Hebrew  and  read,  with  the  versions  cited  above,  "His  children 
shall  be  crushed  by  poverty."  This  suits  better  the  last  line  of 
the  verse.     His  hands  shall  give  back.     The  text  here  is  corrupt. 

180 


THE   BOOK  OF  JOB 


20  :  17 


II. 
12. 

13- 
14. 

15. 

16. 
17- 


^  His  bones  are  full  of  his  youth, 

But  it  shall  lie  down  with  him  in  the  dust. 

Though  wickedness  be  sweet  in  his  mouth, 

Though  he  hide  it  under  his  tongue ; 

Though  he  spare  it,  and  will  not  let  it  go, 

But  keep  it  still  within  his  mouth ; 

Yet  his  meat  in  his  bowels  is  turned, 

It  is  the  gall  of  asps  within  him. 

He   hath   swallowed   down  riches,  and  he 

vomit  them  up  again  : 
God  shall  cast  them  out  of  his  belly. 
He  shall  suck  the  poison  of  asps : 
The  viper's  tongue  shall  slay  him. 
He  shall  not  look  upon  ^  the  rivers, 


shall 


1  Gr.  and  Sah.  omit  vs.  11-14. 


2  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  the  rivers  of  the  flocks. 


The  man  has,  according  to  the  supposition  of  the  poet,  already- 
passed  away.  It  is  plain  that  his  hands  cannot  return  his  wealth 
to  those  from  whom  it  was  taken.  As  several  interpreters  have 
seen,  we  must  either  read  "their  hands,"  making  it  refer  to  the 
''children  "  of  the  first  line,  or  "his  children,"  which  would  refer 
to  the  children  themselves.  How  often  it  happens  that  the 
children  of  a  man  who  has  accumulated  a  fortune  rapidly  squander 
it  and  come  to  want. 

11.  His  bones  are  fxill  of  his  youth.  The  verse  expresses  in 
a  poetic  way  the  thought  that  the  sinner  dies  young. 

12.  Though  wickedness  be  sweet  in  his  mouth.  Sin  is  repre- 
sented as  a  dainty  morsel,  in  the  taste  of  which  one  delights. 

14.  It  is  the  gall  of  asps  within  him.  That  which  was  sweet 
to  the  taste  often  produces  disturbance  and  agony  in  digestion. 
The  author  of  Revelation  uses  this  figure  of  quite  a  different  mat- 
ter;  see  Rev.  10 :  9,  10. 

15.  Vomit  them  up  again.  The  verse  vigorously  develops  the 
figure  begun  in  v.  12. 

16.  He  shall  suck  the  poison  of  asps.  Again  the  figure  is 
changed,  and  the  sweets  which  he  takes  in  his  mouth  turn  out  to 
be  the  poison  of  asps.  The  viper's  tongue.  Since  vipers  emit 
their  poison  through  the  tongue,  the  tongue  is  poetically  spoken 
of  as  the  poison. 

17.  He  shall  not  look  upon  the  rivers.     Whether  with  the 

181 


2o:i8  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


The  flowing  streams  of  honey  and  butter. 

1 8.  ^  That  which  he  laboured  for  shall  he    restore, 

and  shall  not  swallow  it  down ; 
2  According    to    the    substance  ^  that    he  hath 
gotten,  he  shall  not  rejoice. 

19.  For  he  hath  oppressed  and  forsaken  the  poor ; 
He  hath  violently  taken  away  an  house,  ^  and  he 

^  shall  not  build  it  up. 

»  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  In  vain  shall  he  labor  and  shall  not  taste.  2  About  50  Heb.  MSS. 

Syr.  Ar.  In  the  substance.  ^  m.  Heb.  of  his  exchange.  *  m.  Or,  which  he  builded 

not  up.  s  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Vulg.  Targ.  did  not  build.     Syr.  Ar.  it  was  not  built. 

versions  cited  we  fill  out  the  line,  or  let  it  stand  as  it  is,  the  second 
line  explains  what  is  meant  by  the  "rivers."  The  abundance  of 
sweet  and  luscious  food,  especially  that  which  comes  from  numer- 
ous flocks  and  herds,  serves  in  the  Old  Testament  as  a  frequent 
synonym  for  all  that  is  desirable.  Some  scholars  by  a  slight 
change  in  the  Hebrew  make  the  first  line  read,  "rivers  of  oil," 
which  gives  a  good  parallelism,  but  has  no  support  from  the 
versions. 

18.  That  which  he  labo  red  for  shall  he  restore.  The 
verse  is  very  difficult,  and  the  variations  of  the  versions  show 
that  the  text  is  corrupt.  Different  scholars  have  sought  in  va- 
rious ways  to  remedy  it.  The  simplest  way  is  to  make  two 
slight  emendations  on  the  authority  of  the  versions  and  MSS. 
quoted  above,  and  to  read  : 

"In  vain  he  labors  and  does  not  eat  of  it, 
In  the  substance  of  his  exchange  he  does  not  rejoice." 

The  verse  continues  the  thought  of  v.  17.  Swallow  it  down. 
This  is  the  literal  meaning  of  the  Hebrew.  It  is  a  vigorous  way 
of  saying  that  the  man  does  not  enjoy  the  fruits  of  his  labor. 

19.  Forsaken  the  poor.  Some  scholars  by  the  change  of  one 
letter  in  the  Hebrew  obtain  the  meaning  "grieved"  or  "har- 
assed the  poor."  This  is,  perhaps,  right.  Since,  however,  the 
present  text  is  supported  by  the  versions,  and  gives  a  sense  which 
is  true  to  life,  viz.  that  a  wealthy  man  oppresses  the  poor  until 
he  has  obtained  from  them  all  he  can,  and  then  abandons  them, 
it  seems  better  to  retain  the  present  reading.  Shall  not  build 
it  up.  It  is  better,  either  with  the  reading  of  the  margin  or  of 
the  versions  cited,  to  read  "has  not  built  up."     The  sin  of  the 

182 


THE   BOOK   OF  JOB 


20.  Because  he  knew  no  ^  quietness  ^  within  him, 

He  shall  not    ^  save  aught  of  that  wherein  he 
dehghteth. 

21.  There  was  nothing  left  that  he  devoured  not; 
Therefore  his  prosperity  shall  not  endure. 

22.  In  the  fulness  of  his  sufficiency  he  shall  be  in 

straits : 
The  hand  of  ^  every  one  that  is  in  misery  shall 
come  upon  him. 

23.  ^  When  he  is  about  to  fill  his  belly, 

'  Gr.  Sah.  safety  in  his  possessions.  2  m.  Or,  in  his  greed.     Heb.  in  his  belly. 

3  Theod.  Syr.  Sah.  Targ.  Ar.  be  saved  by  that,  b'c.  *  Gr.  V'ulg.  Sah.  Eth.  all  misery. 

6  m.  Or,  Let  it  be  for  the  filling  of  his  belly  that  God  shall  cast  b'c. 

man  is  that  he  has  in  his  greed  simply  destroyed ;  he  has  left  no 
compensation  to  society  for  all  his  gains. 

20.  Because  he  knew  no  quietness  within  him.  As  noted 
above,  two  of  the  versions  have  a  different  reading  for  the  last 
part  of  the  line,  and  one  which,  as  many  scholars  have  seen, 
makes  better  sense.  The  Hebrew  word  translated  "Because" 
may  also  be  translated  "surely."  The  connection  with  the  pre- 
ceding verse  would  lead  us  to  utilize  both  these  facts  and  to  trans- 
late the  line : 

"Surely  he  shall  know  no  safety  in  his  possessions." 

He  shall  not  save.  On  the  authority  of  the  versions  quoted 
above  we  would  change  the  voice  of  the  verb  here  and  render  the 
line : 

"He  shall  not  be  saved  by  that  wherein  he  delighted." 

21.  There  was  nothing  left  that  he  devoured  not.  There  was 
no  survivor  of  his  destructive  greed.  His  prosperity  shall  not 
endure.  He  shall  suffer  the  same  reverses  which  he  brought 
upon  others. 

22.  In  the  fulness  of  his  sufficiency  he  shall  be  in  straits. 
How  often  this  proves  true !  The  rich  in  the  fulness  of  their 
sufficiency  are  not  satisfied  and  are  really  in  deep  straits.  The 
hand  of  every  one  that  is  in  misery.  Perhaps  we  should  read 
with  the  versions  cited,  "The  hand  of  all  misery  shall  come  upon 
him."     It  develops  more  naturally  the  thought  of  the  first  line. 

23.  When  he  is  about  to  fill  his  belly.     The  Hebrew  is  very 

183 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


God  shall  cast  the  fierceness  of  his  wrath  upon 

him, 
And  shall  rain  it  upon  him  ^  while  he  is  eating. 

24.  He  shall  flee  from  the  iron  weapon, 

And  the  bow  of  brass  shall  strike  him  through. 

25.  2  He  draweth  it  forth,  and  it  cometh  out  of   his 

body  : 
Yea,  the  glittering  point  cometh  out  of  his  gall; 

1  m.  Or,  as  his  food.     Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  calamities.  «  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth. 

The  missile  passes  through  the  body. 

Strange.  Four  scholars  have  suggested  a  slight  change  in  the 
Hebrew  of  the  first  word,  which  we  should  probably  adopt.  The 
first  two  lines  would  then  read : 

"Jehovah,  to  fill  his  belly. 
Shall  pour  upon  him  the  fierceness  of  his  wrath." 

Shall  rain  it  upon  him  while  he  is  eating.  The  marginal  reading, 
like  that  of  the  text,  gives  no  satisfactory  meaning.  By  making 
a  slight  emendation  on  the  authority  of  the  versions,  the  line 
would  read : 

"  And  shall  rain  upon  him  calamities." 

This  forms  a  fitting  continuation  of  the  first  part  of  the  verse. 
The  thought  set  forth  is  that,  as  the  man  is  seeking  to  fill  himself 
with  the  good  things  of  earth,  God  fills  him  with  calamities  and 
his  fierce  wrath. 

24.  The  iron  weapon  .  .  .  the  bow  of  brass.  It  is  God's 
purpose  to  destroy  him.  Accordingly  as  he  flees  from  one  peril 
a  greater  peril  overtakes  him. 

25.  He  draweth  it  forth,  and  it  cometh  out  of  his  body.  The 
versions  cited  above  give  a  far  better  sense:  "The  missile  passes 
through  the  body."  The  poet  undoubtedly  continued  the  figure 
of  the  "bow  of  brass  "  begun  in  v.  24.  That  bow  hurls  its  arrow 
so  powerfully  that  it  passes  clear  through  the  victim's  body. 
Cometh  out  of  his  gall.  This  is  the  very  figure  which  Job  had 
used  in  16:12-13  to  describe  God's  treatment  of  himself.  He 
had  said : 

"He  hath  set  me  up  for  his  mark. 
His  arrows  compass  me  round  about ; 
He  cleaveth  my  reins  asunder  and  doth  not  spare ; 
He  poureth  out  my  gall  upon  the  ground." 
184 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


Terrors  are  upon  him. 

26.  All  darkness  is  laid  up  ^  for  his  treasures : 
A  fire  not  blown  by  man  shall  devour  him ; 

2  It  shall  consume  that  which  is  left  in  his  tent. 

27.  The  heavens  shall  reveal  his  iniquity, 
And  the  earth  shall  rise  up  against  him. 

28.  3  The  increase  of  his  house  shall  depart, 

His  goods  ^  shall  flow  away  in  the  day  of  his  wrath. 

29.  This  is  the  portion  of  a  wicked  man  from  God, 
And  the  ^heritage  appointed  unto  him  by  God. 

o  l^J^-  P^*-  ^^^-  ^"^  ^^^-  "  ™-  O""'  ^^  ^^^^  so  ill  with  him  that  is  left.  »  Gr. 

Sah.  Eth.  Destruction  shall  sweep  away  his  house.  <  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  The  day  of  wrath 

shall  come  upon  it.  s  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  heritage  of  his  wealth. 

Zophar  by  using  the  same  figure  in  much  the  same  way,  to  por- 
tray God's  destruction  of  the  sinner,  doubtless  employed  it  con- 
sciously in  order  to  hint  to  Job  that  the  remarks  had  a  personal 
application.     Terrors  are  upon  him.     The  terrors  of  death. 

26.  All  darkness  is  laid  up  for  his  treasures.  This  is  a  diffi- 
cuh  phrase.  The  word  rendered  "treasures"  means  simply 
"hidden  things,"  which  here  suggests  no  good  meaning.  It  is 
better  with  the  versions  cited  to  omit  it,  and  read  simply,  "All 
darkness  is  laid  up  for  him."  A  fire  not  blown.  One  that  needs 
no  human  breath  to  foster  it,  hence  a  fire  of  God. 

27.  The  heavens  shall  reveal  his  iniquity.  The  verse  re- 
minds one  of  the  words  of  Jesus,  "There  is  nothing  covered  that 
shall  not  be  revealed,"  Matt.  10 :  26. 

28.  The  increase  of  his  house  shall  depart.  The  Hebrew  of 
the  verse  is  unusual  and  difficult  and  does  not  afford  a  clear  mean- 
ing. If  we  make  the  slight  changes  necessary  to  secure  the  text 
which  the  versions  above  quoted  support,  it  would  then  read : 

"Destruction  shall  sweep  away  his  house, 
The  day  of  wrath  shall  come  upon  it." 
This  is  a  clear  and  definite  meaning  and  also  suits  the  context. 

29.  The  heritage  appointed  unto  him  by  God.  The  Hebrew  is 
literally,  "The  heritage  of  his  word  from  God  "  —  a  very  unusual 
expression  either  in  Hebrew  or  English.  The  Hebrew  word 
rendered  by  the  versions  "his  wealth  "  (see  those  quoted  above) 
is  identical  with  a  word  which  means  "his  iniquity."  This  fits 
here  admirably.     The  line  would  then  read  : 

"The  heritage  of  his  iniquity  from  God." 

i8S 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


12.  JoVs  Second  Reply  to  Zophar,  Ch.  21 

21.  Then  Job  answered  and  said, 

2.  Hear  diligently  my  speech ; 

And  let  this  be  your  ^  consolations. 

3.  Suffer  me,  and  I  also  will  speak ; 

And  after  that  I  have  spoken,  ^  mock  on. 

4.  ^  As  for  me,  is  my  complaint  ^  to  man  ? 
And  why  should  I  not  be  impatient  ? 

5.  ^  Mark  me,  and  be  astonied. 

And  lay  your  hand  upon  your  mouth. 

6.  Even  when  I  remember  I  am  troubled, 


1  Gr.  Sah.  Targ.  consolation.  2  m.  Or,  tJtou  shall  mock.     Gr.  OLat.  Syr.  Vulg. 

Sah.  Eth.  Ar.  mock  ye.     Sym.  stand  ye.  ^  Syr.  Ar.  Do  I  speak  my  complaint? 

Gr.  OLat.  Sym.  Vulg.    Sah.  Eth.  But  why  is  my  complaint?  *  m.  Or,  of. 

s  m.  Or,  Look  unto  me. 


(i)  Job  challenges  his  friends'  attention,  21  : 1-6 

2.  Your  consolations.  With  the  versions  cited  we  should 
read  "consolation."  In  15:11  Eliphaz  had  called  the  remarks 
of  himself  and  his  companions  the  "consolations  of  God  " 
to  Job.  Job  now  asks  them  to  be  content  to  ofifer  him  this  one 
consolation,  that  they  listen  attentively  to  his  indictment  of  the 
moral  government  of  the  world. 

3.  Mock  on.  Many  scholars  read  as  in  the  margin,  "thou 
shalt  mock,"  and  believe  that  the  change  from  the  plural  to  the 
singular  was  made  in  order  to  single  out  Zophar,  who  to  Job's 
magnificent  and  moving  utterance  in  ch.  19  could  make  such  a 
brutal  reply.  The  ancient  versions  are,  however,  almost  unan- 
imous in  reading  a  plural  here,  "  mock  ye,"  and  it  is  probable  that 
Job  scornfully  refers  to  all  his  friends. 

4.  As  for  me.  We  should,  perhaps,  read  with  the  Syriac  and 
Arabic,  "Do  I  speak  my  complaint  to  man?  "  Job  feels  that  his 
complaint  is  to  God,  and  it  is  no  concern  of  these  friends  who 
have  shown  themselves  so  incapable  of  understanding  it. 

5.  Be  astonied.  What  Job  is  about  to  say  will,  he  feels, 
greatly  shock  his  friends.  In  Job's  view,  however,  they  ought  to 
be  more  astonished  at  the  terrible  facts  to  which  he  will  call  their 
attention  than  at  his  statement  of  them. 

186 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB  21:9 


And  horror  taketh  hold  on  my  flesh. 

7.  Wherefore  do  the  wicked  Hve, 
Become  old,  yea,  wax  mighty  in  power  ? 

8.  Their  seed  is  established  ^  with  them  in  their  sight, 
And  their  offspring  before  their  eyes. 

9.  Their  houses  are  ^  safe  from  fear, 
Neither  is  the  rod  of  God  upon  them. 

1  Gr.  OLat.  Syr.  Sah.  Eth.  Ar.  omit  mith  them.  ^  m.  Or,  in  peace  without  fear. 

6.  Horror  taketh  hold  on  my  flesh.  It  makes  Job  shudder 
just  to  think  of  God's  immoral  government  of  the  world.  It  is 
this  of  which  his  friends  are  ignorant  and  the  utterance  of  which 
will  astonish  them.  It  is  Job's  conviction  of  this  immoral  gov- 
ernment which  constitutes  the  heart  of  his  trouble.  It  has  been 
with  him  all  through  his  discussion.  In  two  or  three  rare  mo- 
ments he  has  risen  to  a  hope  that  God's  present  mood  would  at 
some  time  pass,  and  he  would  deal  more  fairly  with  his  creatures. 
He  has  risen  to  the  hope  that  he  might  find  "refuge  from  God  in 
God."  At  no  time,  however,  has  this  hope  driven  from  his  mind 
the  conviction  that  God's  present  government  of  the  world  is 
immoral,  and  Zophar's  speech  has  for  the  moment  driven  away 
Job's  higher  thought  and  brought  out  all  the  ugliness  of  his  bitter 
conviction. 

(2)    God^s  immoral  government  of  the  world.     The  wicked  are  not 
overtaken  by  calamity,  but  live  and  prosper,  21 :  7-34 

7.  Wherefore  do  the  wicked  live?  Job's  friends  had  each 
declared  that  the  wicked  do  not  live,  do  not  become  old,  do  not 
prosper.  Job  might  have  as  a  debater  declared  that  life's  expe- 
rience did  not  correspond  to  these  assertions.  The  problem  is  to 
him,  however,  far  too  painful  a  one  to  be  made  the  means  of  a 
cheap  dialectic  triumph.  He  had  just  said  that  it  filled  him  with 
horror.  Accordingly  he  ignores  the  assertions  of  his  friends  and 
goes  at  the  heart  of  the  problem  itself. 

8.  Their  seed  is  established  with  them.  "  With  them  "  is 
omitted  by  most  of  the  versions  as  noted  above.  When  taken 
in  connection  with  "before  them"  it  is  redundant  and  makes 
the  line  too  long.  It  should  be  omitted.  Perhaps  the  fact  that 
his  own  children  had  been  destroyed  led  Job  to  begin  his  com- 
plaint of  God's  treatment  of  the  wicked  with  the  fact  that  he 
spares  their  children. 

9.  The  rod  of  God.     Which  had  so  terribly  smitten  Job. 

187 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


Their  bull  gendereth,  and  faileth  not ; 

Their  cow  calveth,  and  casteth  not  her  calf. 

They  send  forth  their  little  ones  like  a  flock, 

And  their  children  dance. 

They  ^  sing  to  the  timbrel  and  harp, 

And  rejoice  at  the  sound  of  the  pipe. 

They  spend  their  days  in  prosperity. 

And  in  a  moment  they  go  down  to  ^  Sheol. 

Yet  they  said  unto  God,  Depart  from  us ; 

For  we  desire  not  the  knowledge  of  thy  ways. 

2  What  is  the  Almighty,  that  we  should  serve 

him? 
And  what  profit  should  we  have,  if  we  pray  unto 

him? 


m.  Heb.  lift  up  the  voice. 


m.  Or,  the  grave. 


3  Gr.  and  Sah.  omit  v.  15. 


10.  Their  bull  .  .  .  their  cow.  In  a  pastoral  country  the 
main  source  of  wealth  is  the  increase  in  the  cattle.  This  verse 
accordingly  tells  how  the  wealth  of  the  wicked  increases. 

11.  Little  ones  like  a  flock.  That  is,  as  numerous  as  a  flock, 
see  Ps.  107:41.  Job's  grief  over  his  own  children  causes  his 
thought  to  return  to  this  aspect  of  the  wicked's  prosperity. 
Their  children  dance.  While  Job's  are  dead.  It  takes  a  heart 
touched  with  a  grief  like  Job's  to  understand  how  the  sight  of 
such  dancing  on  the  part  of  the  children  of  such  men  would  affect 
him. 

1 2.  They  sing.  That  is,  the  wicked  sing.  The  reference  is  not 
to  their  children,  but  to  the  parents.  They  have  the  leisure 
and  zest,  so  it  seems  to  Job,  to  thoroughly  enjoy  life. 

13.  In  a  moment.  That  is,  they  are  spared  the  torture  of  a 
lingering  illness.  Job  had  frequently  expressed  the  thought 
that  he  longed  for  death  and  it  came  not  (3  :  21  ;  7  :  15).  The 
wicked,  he  declares,  in  contrast  live  to  a  good  old  age  (v.  7),  and 
then  die  suddenly.     They  live  joyously  and  die  the  easiest  way. 

14.  Said  unto  God,  Depart  from  us.  Such  non-religious  or 
irreligious  people  are  mentioned  several  times  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment and  were  a  stumbhng-block  to  many  pious  souls ;  see  Ps.  73 
and  123:  4;   Pr.  1:22;  3:34;   g'T,  etc. 

15.  What  profit  should  we  have?     Their  argument  is  that 

188 


THE   BOOK   OF   JOB 


1 6.  ^  Lo,  their  prosperity  is  not  in  their  hand : 
The  counsel  of  the  wicked  is  far  ^  from  me. 

17.  3  How  oft  is  it  that  the  lamp  of  the  wicked  is  put 

out? 
That  their  calamity  cometh  upon  them  ? 
That  God  distributeth  sorrows  in  his  anger  ? 

18.  That  they  are  as  stubble  before  the  wind, 

1  m.  Or,  Ye  say,  Lo  &*c.       Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  For  their  prosperity  is  in  their  own  hands. 
*  Gr.  Sah.  from  him.  '  m.  Or,  How  oft  is  the  lamp  of  the  wicked  put  out,  and  how 

oft  cometh  their  calamity  upon  them  /  God  distributeth  sorrows  in  his  anger.  They  are 
as  stubble  .  .  .  away. 

religion  does  not  pay.  Sometimes  religious  people  were  tempted 
to  think  so  too;    see  Ps.  73  :  13  ff.  and  Mai.  3  :  14. 

16.  Lo,  their  prosperity  is  not  in  their  hand.  This  verse  as 
it  stands  comes  in  strangely.  If  we  render  as  in  the  Revised 
text,  it  is  a  pious  exclamation  on  the  part  of  Job,  which  is  quite 
out  of  harmony  with  his  present  mood  and  argument.  If  we 
adopt  the  marginal  reading,  it  becomes  an  objection  of  the 
friends,  which  Job  anticipates  —  a  procedure  which  also  seems 
out  of  harmony  with  the  argument.  It  seems  better  with  the 
versions  quoted  above  to  make  two  slight  changes  in  the  Hebrew 
and  render : 

"For  their  prosperity  is  in  their  own  hands, 
The  counsel  of  the  wicked  is  far  from  him." 

The  verse  is  then  a  continuation  of  the  portrayal  of  the  point  of 
view  of  the  wicked  begun  in  v.  15.  They  think  that  they  control 
their  own  destinies,  and  their  counsel  is  far  from  God. 

17.  How  oft  is  it  that  the  lamp  of  the  wicked  is  put  out  ?  The 
rendering  of  the  margin  is  clearly  wrong ;  that  of  the  Revised  text 
alone  fits  the  context.  It  is  inconceivable  that  Job  in  his  present 
argument  should  piously  exclaim,  "How  oft  is  the  lamp  of  the 
wicked  put  out !  "  It  is  fitting  for  him  to  ask  it  as  a  question,  since 
a  positive  question  is  a  negative  assertion.  Understood  in  this 
way  the  verse  continues  logically  Job's  arraignment  of  God's 
government  of  the  world.  He  does  not  say  that  God  never  puts 
out  the  lamp  of  the  wicked,  that  he  never  sends  calamity  upon 
them  or  distributes  sorrow  to  them,  but  he  does  say  that  such 
instances  are  rare,  and  are  not  the  general  rule. 

18.  That  they  are  as  sttibble  before  the  wind?  A  continua- 
tion of  the  rhetorical  questions  of  v.   17.     The  figure  of  chafiE 

189 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


And  as  chaff  that  the  storm  carrieth  away  ? 

19.  ^  Ye  say,    God  layeth   up   his  iniquity  for  his 

children. 
Let  him  recompense  it  unto  himself,  that  he  may 
know  it. 

20.  Let  his  own  eyes  see  his  destruction, 

And  let  him  drink  of  the  wrath  of  the  Almighty. 

21.  2  For  what  pleasure  hath  he  in  his  house  after  him, 

^m.  Or,  God  layeth  up  his  iniquity  for  his  children:  he  rewardeth  him,  and  he  shall 
know  it.  His  eyes  shall  see  his  destruction  and  he  shall  drink  6*c.  The^Gr.  and  Sah. 
omit  V.  19.  2  The  Gr.  and  Sah.  omit  v.  21. 

and  stubble  driven  before  the  wind  is  applied  to  the  wicked  in 
Isa.  17:13  and  Ps.  1:4.  Job  asks  ironically  how  often  this 
happens. 

19.  Ye  say,  God  layeth  up  iniquity  for  his  children.  The 
words  "ye  say  "  are  not  in  the  Hebrew.  The  Revisers  intro- 
duced them  to  imply  that  Job  is  anticipating  an  objection  of  his 
friends.  There  is,  however,  the  same  objection  to  this  here 
which  existed  in  v.  16.  There  is  no  reason  for  the  marginal  read- 
ing except  that  it  was  the  translation  of  the  Authorized  Version. 
We  gain  harmony  with  the  context  by  making  a  slight  change 
in  the  Hebrew  first  suggested  by  Ley  and  adopted  by  Duhm  and 
Peake.     We  should  then  translate : 

"He  does  not  lay  up  iniquity  for  his  children. 
He  pays  the  penalty  himself  and  knows  it." 

That  is.  Job  declares  that  the  sins  of  the  fathers  are  not  visited 
upon  the  children,  but  that  such  penalty  as  there  is  the  man  him- 
self bears. 

20.  Let  his  own  eyes  see  .  .  .  and  let  him  drink.  As  in  the 
preceding  verse,  we  should  translate : 

"His  own  eyes  shall  see  his  destruction, 
And  he  shall  drink  the  wrath  of  the  Almighty." 

Again  Job  means  that  such  destruction  as  sin  brings  the  man 
himself  sees  ;  it  is  not  reserved  for  his  children.  That  it  does  not 
often  come  upon  the  man  himself  he  has  already  asserted  in  v.  17. 

21.  For  what  pleasure  hath  he  in  his  house  after  him?  We 
should  say,  "  What  interest  has  he  in  his  house  after  he  has  passed 
away?"  Job  had  declared  in  14:21  that  a  man  in  Sheol 
knew  nothing  of  that  which  was  happening  to  his  family  on  earth, 

190 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


When  the  number  of  his  months  is  cut  off  in  the 
midst? 

22.  Shall  any  teach  God  knowledge? 
Seeing  he  judgeth  those  that  are  high. 

23.  One  dieth  in  his  full  strength, 
Being  wholly  at  ease  and  quiet: 

24.  His  ^  breasts  are  full  of  ^  milk, 

And  the  marrow  of  his  bones  is  moistened. 

25.  And  another  dieth  in  bitterness  of  soul ; 
And  never  tasteth  of  good. 

26.  They  lie  down  alike  in  the  dust, 

1  m.  Or,  milk  pails.  Gr.  Vulg.  Sah.  Eth.  his  bowels.  Syr.  Ar.  his  sides.        ^  Gr.  Syr. 
Vulg.  Sah.  Eth.  Ar.  fat. 

and  in  Eccl.  9:5,6  there  is  a  similar  assertion.  Job's  point, 
then,  is  that  to  afflict  a  man's  descendants  is  no  punishment  to 
the  man. 

22.  Shall  any  teach  God  knowledge?  This  is  an  ironical 
reference  to  the  friends.  All  that  they  have  said  sets  forth  the 
way  they  think  God  ought  to  run  the  universe,  but  he  actually 
runs  it  in  another  way.  Job  suggests  that  they  are  really  pre- 
tending to  be  wiser  than  God.  He  judgeth  those  that  are  high. 
Eliphaz  had  twice  expressed  the  thought  that  God  judges  angels ; 
4:  18;  15:  15.  It  is  a  thought  which  sometimes  finds  expres- 
sion elsewhere,  as  in  Ps.  82  :  i ;  Isa.  24:  21;  and  the  Ethiopic 
Enoch  passim.  Job  here  takes  up  the  statement  of  Eliphaz  to 
make  the  thought  that  his  friends  could  teach  God  how  to  im- 
prove his  management  of  the  world  the  more  ridiculous. 

23.  One  dieth.  Job  passes  now  away  from  the  wicked  man 
and  takes  an  illustration  from  observation  of  life  as  a  whole. 

24.  His  breasts  are  full  of  milk.  The  word  "breasts"  is 
obviously  unfitting  when  the  sentence  refers  to  a  man.  As  the 
margin  informs  us,  the  Hebrew  is  really  "milk  pails,"  but  even 
this  reading  in  incongruous.  We  should  either  emend  the  text 
with  one  group  of  versions  to  read,  "His  bowels  are  full  of  fat," 
or  with  another  group,  "His  sides  are  full  of  fat."  He  means 
that  some  die  without  an  emaciating  illness. 

25.  In  bitterness  of  soul;  and  never  tasteth  of  good.  Job 
means  to  say  that  the  joy  or  ease  and  the  bitterness  are  not 
allotted  according  to  any  standard  of  rewards  and  punishments. 

26.  They  lie  down  alike  in  the  dust.     Whether  they  have 

191 


THE   BOOK   OF   JOB 


And  the  worm  covereth  them. 

27.  Behold,  I  know  your  thoughts, 

And  the  devices  which  ye  wrongfully  imagine  against 
me. 

28.  1  For  ye  say,  Where  is  the  house  of  the  prince  ? 
And  where  is  the  tent  wherein  the  wicked  dwelt  ? 

29.  Have  ye  not  asked  them  that  go  by  the  way? 
And  do  ye  not  know  their  tokens  ? 

30.  That  the  evil  man  is  ^  reserved  to  the  day  of  calamity  ? 
That  they  are  ^  led  forth  to  the  day  of  wrath  ? 

31.  Who  shall  declare  his  way  to  his  face  ? 

And  who  shall  repay  him  what  he  hath  done  ? 

1  The  Gr.  and  Sah.  omit  vs.  28-33.     *  m.  Ox, spared  in  b'c.    «  m.  Or,  led  away  in  &"€. 

suffered  or  not,  whether  they  have  sinned  or  not,  one  fate  awaits 
them.     The  thought  is  similar  to  that  of  Eccl.  9:  2,  3. 

27.  I  know  your  thoughts.  The  last  half  of  the  verse  makes 
it  clear  that  Job  means  that  he  knows  that  their  discourses  as  to 
the  terrible  fate  of  the  wicked  were  meant  to  convince  him  of  his 
own  sinfulness. 

28.  Where  is  the  house  of  the  prince  ?  That  is,  of  the  wicked 
oppressor.  According  to  the  doctrine  of  the  friends  it  was  sure 
to  be  overthrown. 

29.  Have  ye  not  asked  them  that  go  by  the  way?  Job  means 
that  if  they  had  asked  those  who  have  travelled  and  have  had 
opportunity  to  see  life  in  the  large,  they  would  know  that  this 
is  a  false  theory. 

30.  That  the  evil  man  is  reserved  to  the  day  of  calamity? 
This  rendering  presents  a  meaning  quite  out  of  harmony  with  the 
context.  We  must  regard  "that"  at  the  beginning  of  the  line 
as  a  continuation  of  the  question  and  as  suggesting  a  negative 
answer  and  also  must  adopt  the  marginal  reading.     This  gives  us  : 

"Is  it  that  they  are  spared  in  the  day  of  calamity?  " 
As  above,  this  question  is  equivalent  to  a  negative  assertion,  mean- 
ing that  the  testimony  of  travellers,  or  men  who  have  observed 
widely,  is  that  the  wicked  are  not  spared  in  the  day  of  calamity. 
Led  forth.  Here,  too,  the  context  requires  the  marginal  reading, 
the  meaning  being  that  they  are  not  led  away  to  the  day  of  wrath, 

31.  His  way  to  his  face.  That  is,  the  wicked  man's  way  to 
his  face.     What  he  hath  done.     Yiz.  the  wicked  man. 

192 


THE   BOOK   OF   JOB  21 


32.      1  Yet  shall  he  be  borne  to  the  grave, 
And  2  shall  keep  watch  over  the  tomb. 

^^.      The  clods  of  the  valley  shall  be  sweet  unto  him, 
And  all  men  shall  draw  after  him, 
As  there  were  innumerable  before  him. 

34.      How  then  comfort  ye  me  ^  in  vain. 

Seeing  in  your  answers  there  remaineth  only  *  false- 
hood? 

1  m.  Or,  Moreover  he  is  borne  to  the  grave,  and  keepeth  watch  over  his  tomb.  The 
clods  of  the  valley  are  sweet  unto  him,  and  all  men  draw  fe-c.  2  m.  Or,  they  shall  keep. 
*  m.  Or,  with  vanity.  *  m.  Or,  faithlessness. 

32.  Be  borne  to  the  grave.  That  is,  have  honorable  burial. 
And  shall  keep  watch  over  the  tomb.  This  comes  in  strangely. 
If  this  translation  is  right,  it  must  refer  to  the  fact  that  an  efi&gy 
of  the  man  was  placed  over  the  tomb,  which  was  supposed  to 
guard  it,  and  the  poet  in  accordance  with  an  ancient  habit  of 
thought  identifies  the  man  with  his  eflagy.  Many  scholars, 
however,  translate  as  in  the  margin,  "they  shall  keep  watch  over 
his  tomb."  The  meaning  is  then  that  the  man  receives  honor- 
able burial  and  that  he  is  held  in  such  esteem  that  his  tomb  is 
protected  from  desecration.  Beer  by  a  slight  change  in  the  He- 
brew gains  the  meaning,  "The  tomb  keeps  watch  over  him." 
The  marginal  reading  is,  however,  as  satisfactory  and  is  obtained 
without  alteration  of  the  text. 

33.  The  clods  of  the  valley  shall  be  sweet  unto  him.  A  fine 
poetic  conception  of  the  sweet  sleep  of  death.  The  poet  has 
made  Job  describe  the  wicked  man's  happy  and  prosperous  life, 
his  vigorous  old  age,  his  peaceful  and  painless  death,  his  honor- 
able burial,  and  then,  he  declares,  that  the  very  clods  of  the 
valleys  are  sweet  to  him  in  his  pleasant  sleep.  All  men  shall 
draw  after  him.  Shall  imitate  him.  They  will  desire  to  live 
as  he  lived  that  they  may  die  as  he  died.  As  there  were  innumer- 
able before  him.  From  the  point  of  view  of  Job's  mood  and 
argument  this  is  a  fine  touch.  This  wicked  man  had  many  pred- 
ecessors. He  is  no  exceptional  case.  By  this  one  line  Job 
suggests  that  such  careers  constitute  a  large  part  of  human 
life. 

34.  Comfort  ye  me  in  vain.  Job  began  in  v.  2  by  a  reference 
to  their  "consolation."  Here  he  returns  to  the  emptiness  of 
their  comfort.  Falsehood.  The  margin,  "faithlessness,"  gives 
the  literal  meaning  of  the  Hebrew.     None  of  their  exhortations 

o  193 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


13.    The  Third  Speech  of  Eliphaz,  Ch.  22 

22.  Then  answered  Eliphaz  the  Temanite,  and  said, 

2.  ^  Can  a  man  be  profitable  unto  God  ? 

Surely  he  that  is  wise  is  profitable  unto  himself. 

3.  Is  it  any  pleasure  to  the  Almighty,  that  thou  art 

righteous  ? 
Or  is  it  gain  to  him,  that  thou  makest  thy  ways 
perfect  ?  ^ 

4.  Is  it  ^  for  thy  fear  of  him  that  he  reproveth  thee, 
That  he  entereth  with  thee  into  judgement  ? 

1 1  Heb.  MS.  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  Is  there  one  who  teaches  God  knowledge?  2  Gr. 

and  Sah.  omit  this  half  verse.  3  m.  Qr,  for  fear  oj  thee. 

correspond  with  the  facts  of  life.  The  text  gives  the  sense  ad- 
mirably. One  who  would  console  must  speak  that  which  fits 
life. 

(i)  Job's  punishment  proves  his  sin,  22  :  1-5 

2.  Man  be  profitable  unto  God?  Eliphaz  takes  it  for  granted 
that  God  is  so  far  exalted  above  mankind  that  man  can  be  of  no 
use  to  God.  He  asserts  here  by  means  of  a  rhetorical  question 
that  God  does  not  need  man's  service.  The  phrase  might  well 
be  rendered,  "Can  man  be  of  service  to  God?  "  This  view  of 
God,  while  it  seems  reverently  to  exalt  him,  not  only  removes 
him  far  from  man,  but  in  reality  greatly  detracts  from  his  char- 
acter, making  him  an  unloving,  unsocial  automaton.  Surely 
should  be  translated  "but."  It  introduces  a  contrast  with  the 
first  half  of  the  verse.  He  that  is  wise  is  profitable  unto  himself. 
Eliphaz  believed  that  one's  righteousness  benefited  himself  alone. 
He  mentions  it  here  as  a  reason  why  Job  should  repent  and  reform. 

3.  Is  it  any  pleasure  to  the  Almighty,  that  thou  art  righteous  ? 
Eliphaz  drives  home  his  doctrine  of  God  by  means  of  further 
rhetorical  questions. 

4.  Is  it  for  thy  fear  of  him  ?  The  text  gives  the  correct  mean- 
ing, and  the  reading  of  the  margin  should  be  discarded.  "Fear," 
as  so  often  in  the  Old  Testament,  means  religious  reverence  of  God. 
That  he  reproveth  thee  ?  Eliphaz  asks  sarcastically  whether  Job's 
present  sufferings,  which  in  his  view  constituted  a  reproof  of  the 
strongest  kind,  had  been  sent  because  of  Job's  proper  religious 
attitude  to  God. 

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5.  Is  not  thy  wickedness  great  ? 

Neither  is  there  any  end  to  thine  iniquities. 

6.  For  thou  hast  taken  pledges  of  thy  brother  for 

nought, 
And  stripped  the  naked  of  their  clothing. 

7.  Thou  hast  not  given  water  to  the  weary  to  drink, 


5.  Is  not  thy  wickedness  great?  So  great  a  punishment 
could,  so  Eliphaz  reasoned,  only  be  caused  by  great  sins.  He 
accordingly  proceeds  in  the  verses  which  follow  to  find  the  sins. 
He  had  no  specific  knowledge  of  these  sins,  but  takes  it  for  granted 
that  Job  had  committed  them,  because  they  were  sins  to  which  the 
rich  were  peculiarly  liable.  In  ch.  31  Job  specifically  denies  that 
he  has  been  guilty  of  these  deeds. 

(2)   Eliphaz  charges  Job  with  specific  sins,  22  :  6-1 1 

6.  Taken  pledges  of  thy  brother.  When  loans  were  made  to 
the  poor  by  the  rich  it  was  customary  for  the  latter  to  take  some 
article  of  clothing  or  furniture  from  the  former  as  security.  This 
was  called  taking  a  "pledge."  The  Hebrew  codes  endeavored 
to  protect  the  lives  and  interests  of  the  poor  by  placing  certain 
limitations  upon  pledge-taking;  see  Ex.  22:26,  27  and  Deut. 
24:6,  10-13,  and  17.  For  nought.  This  is  the  sting  of  the 
charge  which  Eliphaz  makes.  To  take  a  pledge  was  compara- 
tively innocent  in  the  eyes  of  all,  but  not  so  to  take  it  for  "nought." 
The  meaning  is,  however,  ambiguous.  It  may  signify  that  Job 
had  taken  pledges  without  giving  value  received,  or  that  he  had 
taken  them  when  no  real  necessity  on  his  own  part  compelled 
him  to  do  so.  Either  case  would  be  a  violation  of  what  the 
Hebrews  regarded  as  most  pleasing  to  God.  Stripped  the  naked 
of  their  clothing.  "Naked"  does  not  in  Hebrew  phrase  mean 
absolutely  naked,  but  is  used  of  those  who  possessed  only  the 
inner  garments  worn  next  to  the  skin  and  who  were  without  the 
warmer  outside  garment.  Such  a  garment  formed,  as  it  does  in 
Palestine  to-day,  the  clothing  of  the  peasant  by  day  and  his 
covering  by  night.  Hebrew  law  accordingly  provided  that  when 
such  a  garment  was  taken  in  pledge  it  should  be  returned 
at  night,  to  prevent  the  debtor  from  taking  cold;  see  Ex.  22  :  26, 
27,  Deut.  24  :  12,  13  ;  compare  also  Amos  2  :  8.  Eliphaz  declares 
Job  has  shown  his  hardness  of  heart  by  taking  as  a  pledge  from 
the  poor  his  one  garment.     Job  makes  answer  in  31  :  19. 

7.  Not  given  water  to  the  weary.  The  verse  portrays  the 
opposite  of  the  ideal  of  righteousness  set  forth  in  Isa.  58 :  7,  10. 

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And  thou  hast  withholden  bread  from  the  hungry. 

8.  But  as  for  ^  the  mighty  man,  he  had  the  ^  earth ; 
And  ^  the  honourable  man,  he  dwelt  in  it. 

9.  Thou  hast  sent  widows  away  empty, 

And  the  arms  of  the  fatherless  ^  have  been  broken. 

10.  Therefore  snares  are  round  about  thee, 
And  sudden  fear  troubleth  thee, 

11.  ^  Or  darkness,  that  thou  canst  not  see, 
And  abundance  of  waters  cover  thee. 

12.  ®  Is  not  God  in  the  height  of  heaven  ? 

1  m.  Heb.  the  man  of  arm.       2  m.  Or,  land.       ^  m.  Heb.  he  whose  person  is  accepted. 
4  Gr.  Syr.  Vulg.  Targ.  Sah.  Eth.  Ar.  thou  hast  broken.  *  m.  Or,  Dost  thou  not  see  the 

darkness,  and  the  flood  of  waters  that  covereth  thee?      Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  Thy  light  has 
gone  out  in  darkness.     Syr.  Whence  is  darkness  thou  dost  not  see.  ^  Gr.  OLat.  Sah. 

Eth.  Does  not  God  dwell  in  the  heights  ?     Syr.  Ar.  Did  not  God  make  high  the  heavens  ? 

8.  He  had  the  earth.  It  is  better  to  translate  "the  earth  is 
his."  The  thought  is  that  the  mighty  man  can  take  what  he 
pleases,  and  the  poor  cannot  help  themselves.  Siegfried  and 
Peake  may  be  right  in  regarding  the  verse  as  a  gloss.  The  state- 
ment sounds  like  a  proverb,  and  it  interrupts  the  direct  charges 
which  Eliphaz  is  making  against  Job. 

9.  Widows  .  .  .  fatherless.  Kindness  to  these  formed  a 
prominent  feature  of  Israelitish  righteousness  as  expressed  in 
the  laws  and  by  the  prophets;  see  Ex.  22:  22;  Deut.  14:  29; 
16:  II,  14;  24:  17,  19,  20,  21;  26:  12,  13;  27:  19;  Isa.  1:17; 
Jer.  7:6;  22:3.  Have  i)een  broken.  We  should  read  with 
the  versions  cited  above,  "thou  hast  broken."  Job's  answer  to 
this  charge  is  found  in  29 :  13  and  31  :  16. 

10.  Therefore  snares  are  round  about  thee.  It  is  thus  that 
Eliphaz  explains  Job's  suffering. 

11.  Or  darkness,  that  thou  canst  not  see.  As  the  text  stands, 
the  line  is  a  weak  repetition  of  the  last  line  of  v.  10.  The  mar- 
gin gives  a  sense  equally  pointless,  for  Job,  as  the  whole  poem 
shows,  was  only  too  conscious  of  his  calamities.  It  is  far  better, 
accordingly,  to  read  with  the  Greek  and  kindred  versions,  "Thy 
light  has  gone  out  in  darkness  "  —  a  statement  which  carries 
forward  the  thought. 

(3)   By  the  fate  of  the  wicked  Job  is  again  warned,  22  :  12-20 

12.  Is  not  God  in  the  height  of  heaven?  God  is  far  exalted 
above  the  world  of  men.     This  is  the  thought  even  if  one  adopt 

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^  And  behold  the  ^  height  of  the  stars,  how  high 
they  are !  ^ 

13.  ^  And  thou  say  est,  What  doth  God  know  ? 
Can  he  judge  through  the  thick  darkness  ? 

14.  Thick  clouds  are  a  covering  to  him,  that  he  seeth 

not; 
And  he  walketh  ^  in  the  circuit  of  heaven. 

15.  ^  Wilt  thou  keep  the  old  way 
Which  wicked  men  have  trodden  ? 


1  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  He  sees  and  Immhles  those  who  do  violence.     Syr.  Ar.  And  he 
sees  the  head  of  the  stars.  2  -[a.  Heb.  head.  ^  Gr.  on  high.  *  Gr.  and 

Sah.  omit  vs.  13-16.  ^  m.  Or,  on  the  vault.  ^  m.  Or,  Dost  thou  mark. 

the  reading  of  the  Greek  and  kindred  versions.  The  connection 
with  the  following  verses  is  not  clear.  And  behold.  We  should 
certainly  read  with  the  Syriac  and  Arabic  versions  "  And  he  sees." 
The  height  of  the  stars.  As  the  margin  tells  us,  the  Hebrew  is 
"the  head  of  the  stars."  Interpreters  have  been  puzzled  to  know 
what  this  means.  Some  have  thought  of  it  as  a  special  constella- 
tion, others,  as  the  pole  star.  If  the  text  is  followed,  with  the  one 
exception  already  noted,  the  verse  is  an  expression  of  the  exaltation 
of  God.  Possibly,  however,  emendations  should  be  made  partly 
from  the  Syriac  and  partly  from  the  Greek,  etc.,  so  as  to  read : 

"  Did  not  God  make  high  the  heavens 
And  see  and  humble  the  mighty  on  high?  " 

The  reference  would  then  be  to  the  power  of  God  as  exhibited 
in  the  creation  myth  referred  to  in  9:13.  The  "mighty" 
would  then  be  the  "helpers  of  Rahab  "  and  the  verse  would  form 
a  fitting  introduction  to  the  warning  from  the  fate  of  the  wicked 
which  Eliphaz  is  undertaking. 

13.  What  doth  God  know?  Eliphaz  chose  to  think  that  Job 
pursued  a  sinful  course  because  he  persuaded  himself  that  God 
was  ignorant  of  what  transpired  on  earth. 

14.  In  the  circuit.  The  marginal  rendering  "on  the  vault" 
is  to  be  preferred.  Probably  it  is  a  reference  to  the  distant  hori- 
zon where  earth  and  heaven  appear  to  meet. 

15.  Wilt  thou  keep.  The  margin,  "Wilt  thou  mark,"  gives  the 
meaning  of  the  Hebrew  and  should  be  followed.  Eliphaz  is  ask- 
ing Job  to  note  an  example,  not  directly  exhorting  him  to  abandon 
a  course. 

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22:  i6  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


1 6.  Who  were  snatched  away  before  their  time, 
Whose  foundation  was  poured  out  as  a  stream: 

17.  Who  said  unto  God,  Depart  from  us ; 
And,  What  can  the  Almighty  do  ^  for  ^  us  ? 

18.  Yet  he  filled  their  houses  with  good  things : 
But  the  counsel  of  the  wicked  is  far  ^  from  me. 

19.  The  righteous  see  it,  and  are  glad ; 
And  the  innocent  laugh  them  to  scorn ; 

20.  Saying,  Surely  they  that  did  rise  up  against  us  are 

cut  off, 
And  ^  the  remnant  of  them  the  fire  hath  consumed. 

21.  Acquaint  now  thyself  with  him,  and  be  at  peace : 

1  m.  Or,  to.  2  Gr.  OLat.  Syr.  Sah.  Eth.  Ar.  us.     m.  Heb.  them.  3  Gr.  Sah. 

Eth.  from  us.  *  m.  Or,  thai  which  remained  to  them,  or,  their  abundance. 

16.  Who  were  snatched  away  before  their  time.  Thought 
by  some  to  be  a  reference  to  the  antediluvians  who  were  destroyed 
by  the  flood,  but  probably  a  reference  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
cities  of  the  plain,  as  v.  20  shows. 

17.  What  can  the  Almighty  do  for  us?  We  should  read  as  in 
the  margin  with  the  versions,  "What  can  the  Almighty  do  to 
us?  "  Eliphaz,  if  the  verse  belongs  here,  puts  into  the  mouths 
of  the  ancient  sinners  the  same  sentiments  which  he  attributed  to 
Job.  Verses  17  and  18  are,  as  several  scholars  have  noted,  a 
gloss  made  by  bringing  together  several  sentences  which  occur 
in  21  :  14-16  in  a  different  order.  If  they  are  omitted,  v.  19 
follows  v.  16  with  much  more  force. 

18.  Far  from  me.  As  the  versions  cited  above  show,  this 
should  be,  "far  from  us." 

19.  Righteous  .  .  .  are  glad.  A  conception  identical  with 
Ps.  107  :  42. 

20.  The  remnant  of  them.  The  explanation  of  the  margin 
which  makes  this  refer  to  "their  abundance  "  is  to  be  preferred. 
The  reference  to  the  destruction  of  their  substance  by  fire  makes 
it  probable  that  the  poet  had  in  mind  the  destruction  of  the 
cities  of  the  plain,  Gen.  18,  19. 

(4)    How  J  oh  may  gain  health  and  prosperity,  22  :  21-30 

21.  Acquaint  now  thyself  with  him.  The  exhortation  of  Eli- 
phaz begins  here ;  in  it  he  holds  out  to  Job  the  hope  of  reconcilia- 

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^  Thereby  good  shall  come  unto  thee. 

22.  Receive,  I  pray  thee,  ^  the  law  from  his  mouth, 
And  lay  up  his  words  in  thine  heart. 

23.  If  thou  return  to  the  Almighty,  ^  thou  shalt  be 

built  up ; 
^  If  thou  put  away  unrighteousness  far  from  thy 
tents. 

24.  And  lay  thou  thy  ^  treasure  ^  in  the  dust, 

And  the  gold  of  Ophir  ^  among  the  stones  of  the 
brooks ; 

1  m.  Or,  as  otherwise  read,  Thereby  shall  thine  increase  he  good.      ^  m.  Or,  instruction. 
'  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  humble  thyself.  *  m.  Or,  I'hou  shalt  put  away  .  .  .  and  shalt  lay  up. 

6  m.  Heb.  ore.  ^  m.  Or,  on  the  earth.  ''  Theod.  Syr.  Targ.  Eth.  Ar.  like. 

tion  and  amendment,  as  was  done  by  the  friends  in  their  first 
cycle  of  speeches.  No  such  hope  was  expressed  in  the  second 
cycle ;  and  it  is  strange  that  this  address,  which  surpasses  all  the 
preceding  for  its  harshness,  should  sound  the  note  of  hope  at  the 
close.  Perhaps  the  poet  meant  to  portray  the  fact,  that,  in  closing, 
the  old  friendship  asserted  itself,  and  made  Eliphaz  long  for  Job's  rec- 
lamation. Good  shall  come  unto  thee.  Some  Hebrew  MSS.  read, 
as  in  the  margin,  "  thine  increase  shall  be  good."  Either  reading  is 
possible  from  the  Hebrew  consonants,  and  either  would  probably 
express  well  the  thought  in  the  mind  of  Eliphaz. 

22.  The  law.  It  is  better  as  in  the  margin  to  translate,  "Re- 
ceive instruction."  The  Hebrew  word  for  "law"  primarily 
means  "instruction." 

23.  Thou  shalt  be  built  up.  Instead  of  this  we  should  read 
with  the  versions  cited  above,  "and  humble  thyself,"  making  the 
line : 

"If  thou  return  to  the  Almighty  and  humble  thyself." 

If  thou  put  away.  This  is  the  correct  rendering.  The  suggestion 
of  the  margin  is  inappropriate  to  the  context. 

24.  Lay  thou  thy  treasure.  The  thought  of  the  verse  is  that 
Job  shall  "cast  away,"  i.e.  cease  to  care  for,  his  riches  in  order  to 
care  for  God  instead.  The  verse  is  omitted  by  the  Greek  and 
Sahidic  versions  and  by  some  modern  scholars.  It  seems,  how- 
ever, appropriate  to  the  context  and  is  probably  genuine.  Dust 
is  correct;  the  marginal  suggestion  is  not  so  good.  Among  the 
stones.     It  is  better  to  adopt  the  reading  of  the  versions  quoted 

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25.  And  the  Almighty  shall  be  thy  ^  treasure, 
And  ^  precious  silver  unto  thee. 

26.  For  then  shalt  thou  delight  thyself  in  the  Almighty, 
And  shalt  Hft  up  thy  face  unto  God. 

27.  Thou  shalt  make  thy  prayer  unto  him,  and  he 

shall  hear  thee ; 
And  thou  shalt  pay  thy  vows. 

28.  Thou  shalt  also  decree  a  thing,  and  it  shall  be 

estabHshed  unto  thee; 
And  Hght  shall  sliine  upon  thy  ways. 

1  m.  Heb.  ore.  2  m.  Or,  precious  silver  shall  be  thine. 


above,  "like  the  stones."  Job  is  exhorted  to  throw  away  his  gold 
as  he  would  the  stones  of  the  brooks,  than  which  nothing  is  more 
abundant  in  Palestine. 

25.  Precious  silver  unto  thee.  The  word  rendered  "precious  " 
elsewhere  is  used  of  something  that  is  "exalted  ";  it  is  not  ap- 
propriate to  silver.  The  Greek  and  kindred  versions  read, 
instead  of  "precious,"  a  verb,  but  none  of  the  renderings  seem 
appropriate.  Modern  scholars  regard  the  text  as  corrupt,  but 
have  made  almost  as  many  guesses  as  there  are  commentators 
as  to  what  the  true  reading  was.  The  guess  which  seems  most 
probable  is  that  which  substitutes  "his  instruction''  for  "pre- 
cious."    The  verse  then  produces  a  beautiful  parallelism : 

"  Then  the  Almighty  shall  be  thy  treasure 
And  his  instruction,  thy  silver." 

26.  Delight  thyself  in  the  Almighty.  Job's  fellowship  with 
God  will  be  restored.  For  such  fellowship  Job  had  longed,  see 
13:  24;   14:  15;    23:  1-7. 

27.  And  he  shall  hear  thee.  This  is  in  reply  to  Job's  com- 
plaint, "If  I  called,  he  would  not  answer  me,"  cf.  9:  16.  Pay 
thy  vows.  A  vow  was  a  promise  to  give  something  toGod  on 
condition  that  he  grant  a  request.  A  good  example  is  Jeph- 
thah's  vow,  Jud.  11  :  30  ff.  The  paying  of  vows  is  here  mentioned 
as  evidence  that  Job's  prayers  will  be  answered,  if  he  follows  the 
advice  which  Eliphaz  is  giving. 

28.  It  shall  be  established  unto  thee.  One  sign  of  Job's  har- 
mony with  God  will  be  that  he  can  carry  out  his  plans. 

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29.  When  they  ^  cast  thee  down,  thou  shalt  say,  There 

is  lifting  up ; 
And  2  the  humble  person  he  shall  save. 

30.  He  shall  deliver  ^  even  him  that  is  not  innocent : 
^  Yea,    he  shall  be  delivered  through  the  clean- 
ness of  ^  thine  hands. 

1  m.  Or,  are  made  low.  '  m.  Heb.  him  that  is  lowly^  of  eyes.  '  Theod.  Syr.  Vulg. 
Eth.  At.  him  that  is  innocent,  m.  Many  ancient  versions  read,  him  that  is  innocent. 
^  Gr.  Eth.  And  thou  shalt  be  delivered.  ^  Syr.  Vulg.  Ar.  his. 

29.  When  they  cast  thee  down,  thou  shalt  say.  The  verse  is 
difficult  both  to  translate  and  to  understand.  As  the  text  of 
RV  shows,  ''thee"  is  not  in  the  Hebrew  and  the  words  that 
are  in  it  are,  as  the  margin  shows,  capable  of  a  different  rendering. 
Moreover,  in  this  glowing  description  of  what  will  follow  recon- 
ciliation with  God,  references  to  further  humiliation  of  Job  are 
inappropriate.  The  word  rendered  "lifting  up"  really  means 
"pride  "  and  "there  is  "  does  not  occur  in  the  Hebrew.  Probably 
the  verse  originally  contained  a  statement  that  God  humbles  the 
proud  and  exalts  the  lowly.  If  we  make  the  first  verb  singular, 
and  substitute  "  God  "  for  "thou  shalt  say  "  —  words  not  unlike 
in  Hebrew  letters  —  the  verse  reads  : 

"For  God  humbles  pride, 
But  delivers  the  lowly." 

The  versions  do  not  help  us,  and  some  such  guess  is  necessary. 

30.  Deliver  even  him  that  is  not  innocent.  This  is  a  difficult 
verse.  As  it  stands  it  says  that  God  will  deliver  even  the  guilty 
on  account  of  Job's  righteousness  —  a  thing  which  the  epilogue 
(ch.  42)  says  actually  happened.  Possibly  the  poet  let  Eliphaz 
drop  this  hint  of  what  the  epilogue  was  to  say.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  versions  had  different  readings.  If  we  emend  the  text  accord- 
ing to  the  citations  from  them  given  above,  we  reverse  the  meaning, 
thus : 

"  He  shall  deliver  the  innocent 
And  thou  shalt  be  saved  by  the  cleanness  of  his  hands." 

This  is  a  more  appropriate  sentiment  in  the  mouth  of  Eliphaz 
than  the  other,  and  is  to  be  preferred.  Perhaps  it  was  changed 
to  make  it  correspond  with  ch.  42. 

It  should  be  noted  that  the  Greek  and  Sahidic  versions  omit 
vs.  29,  30.  Probably  they  were  omitted  because  they  are  diffi- 
cult. 

201 


2311  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


14.   JoVs  Third  Reply  to  Eliphaz,  Chs.  23,  24 

23.  Then  Job  answered  and  said, 

2.  Even  to-day  is  my  complaint  ^  rebellious : 

2  My  stroke  is  heavier  than  my  groaning. 

3.  Oh  that  I  knew  where  I  might  find  him, 
That  I  might  come  even  to  his  seat ! 

4.  I  would  order  my  cause  before  him, 
And  fill  my  mouth  with  arguments. 

5.  I  would  know  the  words  which  he  would  answer 

me, 
And  understand  what  he  would  say  unto  me. 

6.  Would  he  contend  with  me  in  the  greatness  of  his 

power  ? 

3  Nay ;  ^  but  he  would  give  heed  unto  me. 

1  Syr.  Vulg.  Targ.  Ar.  hitter,     m.  Or,  hitter,  or,  accounted  rebellion.  2  m.  Or, 

My   hand  is  heavy  upon  (or  hecause  of).     Gr.  Syr.  Sah.  Eth.  read,  His  hand.    '  Gr. 
Sah.  Eth.  Then.  *  m.  Or,  he  would  only  give  heed. 

(i)  Job  longs  in  vain  to  come  face  to  face  with  God,  23  : 1-9 

2.  Rebellious.  It  is  better  to  adopt  the  first  marginal  reading 
"bitter,"  as  that  is  supported  by  several  versions,  and  requires 
but  a  slight  change  in  the  Hebrew.  The  line  means  "My  com- 
plaint is  just  as  bitter  as  it  was."  My  stroke.  The  word  rendered 
"stroke  "  is  literally  "hand."  We  should  emend  to  "his  hand  " 
with  the  versions  above  quoted.  The  verse  then  affords  the  clear 
meaning  that  Job's  complaint  is  still  bitter  because  God's  hand 
(or  stroke)  is  heavy  upon  him. 

3.  Oh  that  I  knew  where  I  might  find  him.  The  cause  of  this 
desire  to  find  God  is  explained  in  vs.  4,  5. 

5.  Understand  what  he  would  say.  This  phrase  gives  key  to 
vs.  2-5.  Job's  complaint  is  still  bitter  because  he  can  obtain  no 
satisfaction.  God  continues  to  afflict  him  but  also  eludes  him. 
The  inability  to  understand  the  reason  makes  Job  frantic. 

6.  Nay;  but  he  would  give  heed.  Neither  this  phrase  nor 
the  suggestion  of  the  margin  affords  a  satisfactory  sense.  Prob- 
ably we  should  by  a  change  in  the  Hebrew  of  one  vowel  point 
translate,  "If  only  he  would  give  heed  to  me!  " 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


7.  ^  There  the  upright  ^  might  reason  ^  with  him ; 
So  should  I  be  dehvered  for  ever  from  my  ^  judge. 

8.  Behold,  I  go  forward,  but  ^  he  is  not  there; 
And  backward,  but  I  cannot  perceive  him : 

9.  On  the  left  hand,  ^  when  he  doth  work,  but  I  can- 

not behold  him : 
^  He   ^  hideth  himself  on  the   right  hand,  that  I 
cannot  see  him. 
10.  ^  But  he  knoweth  ^^  the  way  that  I  take ; 


1  4  Heb.  MSS.  Vulg.  Ee  would  establish  justice.  *  Qr.  Targ.  Sah.  Eth.  and  would 

reason.  '  Vulg.  Targ.  with  me.  *  Gr.  Syr.  Vulg.  Sah.  Ar.  Eth.  judgment.  *  Gr. 
Sah.  Eth.  /  am  not  there.     Syr.  Ar.  I  do  not  know.  "  Syr.  Ar.  /  seek.  ">  Syr. 

\\i\g.  ki.'Eth..  I  turn  myself.  ^  m.  Or,  turneth  himself  to  .  .  .  him,  but.  ...  »  m. 
Or,  For.  i"  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  now  my  way.  Syr.  Ar.  my  way  and  my  standing-place. 
m.  Heb.  tlie  way  that  is  with  me. 


7.  There  the  upright  might  reason  with  him.  While  the  He- 
brew as  it  stands  gives  a  possible  meaning,  the  meaning  is  much 
clearer  and  the  connection  with  v.  6  much  closer,*if  we  read  with 
the  authorities  quoted  above,  "He  would  establish  justice  and 
would  reason  with  me."  So  should  I  be  delivered.  Job  feels 
that  if  he  could  once  obtain  a  hearing  with  God,  he  could  convince 
God  of  his  innocence.  If  the  divine  misunderstanding  were 
removed,  there  would  be  no  further  trouble.  Judge.  It  is  better 
with  most  of  the  versions  to  read  "judgment."  Job  does  not  wish 
to  escape  from  God,  but  only  from  God's  terrible  judgment. 

8.  Behold,  I  go  forward.  The  verse  is  a  beautiful  expression 
of  the  fruitlessness  of  a  search  for  God  elsewhere  than  in  the 
human  spirit.  God  cannot  be  located  on  the  earth  or  found  at 
the  end  of  a  syllogism. 

9.  When  he  doth  work.  This  comes  in  very  awkwardly. 
The  verse  gains  greatly  in  strength  and  connects  much  better  with 
v.  8,  if  we  read  with  the  version  cited  above : 

"  On  the  left  I  seek,  but  do  not  find  him, 
I  turn  to  the  right,  but  do  not  see  him." 

(2)  Job,  though  innocent,  is  terrified  by  God,  23  :  10-17 

10.  The  way  that  I  take.  This  rendering  does  not  represent 
the  Hebrew,  which  the  margin  correctly  renders.  It  is  better  with 
the  Syriac  and  Arabic  versions  to  make  a  slight  change  in  the 

203 


23:11  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


When  he  hath  tried  me,  I  shall  come  forth  as  gold. 

11.  My  foot  hath  held  fast  to  his  steps ; 

His  way  have  I  kept,  and  turned  not  aside. 

12.  I  have  not  gone  back  from  the  commandment  of 

his  lips ; 
I  have  treasured  up  the  words  of  his  mouth  ^  more 
than  my  ^  necessary  food. 

13.  ^  But  ^  he  is  in  one  mind,  and  who  can  turn  him  ? 
And  what  his  soul  desireth,  even  that  he  doeth. 

14.  For  he  performeth  that  which  is  appointed  for  me : 
And  many  such  things  are  with  him. 

15.  Therefore  am  I  troubled  at  his  presence; 
When  I  consider,  I  am  afraid  of  him. 

16.  For  God  hath  made  my  heart  faint, 
And  the  Almighty  hath  troubled  me : 

*  m.  Or,  more  than  my  own  law.    Gr.  Vulg.  Sah.  Eth.  have,  in  my  bosom.  *  m. 

Or,  portion.     See  Pr.  30 :  8.      3  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  But  he  has  decided.      *  m.  Or,  he  is  one. 

Hebrew  and  translate,  "He  knows  my  way  and  my  standing- 
place."  Although  Job  cannot  find  God,  God  knows  Job  through 
and  through.  Tried  me  .  .  .  come  forth  as  gold.  The  fact 
that  God  knows  him  so  well  is  after  all  a  comfort  to  Job,  for  con- 
scious of  his  innocence,  Job  is  sure  that  in  the  end  he  will  be  ac- 
knowledged just. 

12.  More  than  my  necessary  food.  We  should  read  with  the 
versions  quoted  above  "in  my  bosom." 

13.  He  is  in  one  mind.  The  Hebrew  text  contains  no  word  for 
"mind."  The  versions  undoubtedly  contain  the  correct  reading, 
"he  has  decided  "  or  "determined." 

14.  He  performeth  that  which  is  appointed  for  me.  This  is 
as  good  a  rendering  as  can  be  made  of  the  unusual  Hebrew.  The 
Greek  and  Sahidic  versions  omitted  the  verse.  Some  such  state- 
ment seems,  however,  to  be  necessary  to  prepare  for  v.  15. 

15.  Therefore.  Because  of  the  unknown  store  of  afflictions 
which  God's  treasury  may  yet  contain  for  him.  When  I  con- 
sider. Job  had  moments  when  he  longed  to  come  face  to  face 
with  God.  At  other  moments,  when  he  thought  of  this  side  of 
the  matter,  he  was  afraid. 

204 


THE   BOOK   OF   JOB  24 


17.  ^  Because  I  was  ^  not  cut  off  before  the  darkness, 

Neither  did  he  cover  the  thick  darkness  ^  from 
my  face. 
24.  ^  Why  are  times  ^  not  laid  up  by  the  Almighty  ?  ^ 

And  why  do  not  they  which  know  him  see  his 
days? 
2.  ^  There  are  that  remove  the  landmarks ; 


1  m.  Or,  For  I  am  not  dismayed  because  of  the  darkness,  nor  because  thick  darkness 
covereth  my  face.  *  i  Heb.  MS.  omits  not.  ^  Gr.  OLat.  Vulg.  Sah.  Eth.  omit /rojw. 
*  m.  Or,  Why  is  it,  seeing  times  are  not  hidden  from  the  Almighty,  that  they  which 
know  him  see  not  his  days?  *  2  Heb.  MSS.  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  omit  not.  See  new 

translation  of  this  speech  of  Job  in  the  note  on  24 :  25.  '  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  The  wicked. 

Vulg.  others. 

17.  Because  I  was  not  cut  off,  etc.  Neither  the  text  nor  the 
margin  affords  a  good  meaning  in  the  context.  We  should  change 
the  Hebrew  text  with  the  authorities  cited  above  and  translate : 

''For  I  am  cut  off  before  the  darkness, 
And  thick  darkness  covers  my  face." 

The  verse  then  clearly  continues  the  thought  of  v.  16. 

(3)  God  encourages  the  wicked  by  deferring  judgment,  24  : 1-25 

1.  Why  are  times  not  laid  up  by  the  Almighty?  Neither  the 
text  nor  the  margin  affords  a  clear  meaning.  Such  a  meaning 
is,  however,  secured,  if  with  the  authorities  cited  above,  we  omit 
"not."     The  verse  would  then  read : 

"Why  are  times  hidden  by  the  Almighty, 
That  they  who  know  him  see  not  his  days?  " 

His  days.  His  days  of  judgment.  The  thought  is  that  the 
courage  of  the  righteous  would  be  greatly  strengthened,  if  they 
could  know  that  at  definite  times  the  wicked  would  be  punished. 
If  there  are  such  times,  God  conceals  them. 

2.  There  are  that  remove  landmarks.  We  should  read  with 
the  Greek  and  kindred  versions,  "The  wicked  remove  land- 
marks." In  Palestine,  where  the  fields  are  often  cultivated  in 
common,  each  man's  share  being  marked  off  by  placing  small 
stones,  this  was  an  easy  means  of  robbery.  The  law  of  Deu- 
teronomy condemns  it,  Deut.  19  :  14;  27  :  17.  In  Babylonia  large 
inscribed  boundary  stones  set  up  by  kings  to  mark  the  borders 
of  larger  tracts  have  been  found.     These  contain  curses  and  sacred 

205 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


They  violently  take  away  flocks,  ^  and  feed  them. 

3.  They  drive  away  the  ass  of  the  fatherless, 
They  take  the  widow's  ox  for  a  pledge. 

4.  They  turn  the  needy  out  of  the  way : 

The  ^  poor  of  the  earth  hide  themselves  together. 

5.  ^  Behold,  as  wild  asses  in  the  desert 

They  go  forth  to  their  work,  seeking  diligently  for 

^  meat ; 
^  The  wilderness  yieldeth  them  food  for  their  children. 

6.  They  cut  ^  their  ^  provender  in  the  field ; 

1  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  with  their  shepherds.  2  Theod.  Sym.  Syr.  Eth.  meek.    m.  Or, 

meek.  ^  Gr.  OLat.  Syr.  Vulg.  Targ.  Sah  Eth.  Ar.  omit  Behold.  <  m.  Heb. 

prey.       _        *  Theod.  Sym.  Eth.  Sweet  to  tltem.  «  m.  Or,  his.     Gr.  Sah.  Vulg. 

Eth.  omit  their.  '  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  by  night.     Vulg.  ttot  theirs. 

emblems  designed  to  deter  one  from  removing  them.  Flocks  and 
feed  them.  Again  we  should  read  with  the  versions,  "flocks 
with  their  shepherds."  The  verse  refers  to  robbers  on  a  large 
scale,  who  drive  away  flocks,  shepherds,  and  all. 

3.  Widow's  ox.  This  verse  describes  more  characteristic 
wickedness.  Hebrew  law  protected  the  widow  and  orphan  from 
such  exactions,  Deut.  24:  17,  19,  20,  21. 

4.  The  poor.  The  margin,  although  supported  by  several  of 
the  versions,  is  probably  not  to  be  followed.  "The  poor"  in 
goods  is,  as  the  context  shows,  the  meaning  here. 

5.  Behold.  None  of  the  versions  contain  this  word.  We 
should  omit  it.  Meat.  The  margin,  "prey,"  is  better.  The 
wilderness  yieldeth  them  food.  The  Hebrew  is  peculiar  and 
difficult.  The  revisers  supplied  the  verb  "yieldeth,"  which  is  not 
in  the  text.  Modern  scholars  have  suggested  various  changes 
to  relieve  the  difficulty.  The  simplest  solution  seems  to  be  the 
dropping  of  one  Hebrew  letter,  so  as  to  read  with  the  versions 
cited  above : 

"Sweet  to  them  is  bread  for  their  children." 
The  meaning  then  is  that  like  beasts  of  prey  they  go  out  to  seize 
food  for  their  young.     This  verse  together  with  6-8  is  out  of  place. 
Probably  originally  it  formed  a  part  of  Bildad's  third  speech. 
See  note  on  25  :  6  and  vs.  7,  8  below. 

6.  Their  provender.  By  the  change  of  one  Hebrew  letter  we 
should  read  with  the  three  versions  cited  above : 

"They  reap  by  night  in  the  field." 
206 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


And  they  glean  the  vintage  of  the  wicked. 

7.  They  He  all  night  naked  without  clothing, 
And  have  no  covering  in  the  cold. 

8.  They  are  wet  with  the  showers  of  the  mountains, 
And  embrace  the  rock  for  want  of  a  shelter. 

g.  There  are  that  pluck  the  fatherless  from  the  breast, 

And  1  take  a  pledge  of  the  poor :  ^ 
10.  So  that  they  go  about  naked  without  clothing, 

And  being  an-hungred  they  carry  the  sheaves; 

1  m.  Or,  take  in  pledge  that  which  is  on  the  poor. 

The  Vulgate  reads,  making  a  slightly  different  change  : 

"They  reap  in  a  field  not  theirs." 

"By  night  "  is  probably  right,  as  it  is  then  that  thieves  usually 
work.  Of  the  wicked.  This  phrase  seems  unsuitable  here. 
As  several  scholars  have  noted,  we  should  transpose  the  Hebrew 
letters  and  read  "vintage  of  the  rich."  Thieves  go  where  plunder 
is  plenty. 

7,  8.  Without  clothing  .  .  .  they  are  wet.  These  thieves 
make  a  poor  living. 

Verses  5-8  probably  formed  originally  a  part  of  the  third  speech 
of  Bildad  (see  below  on  25  :  6).  The  sentiment  is  similar  to  that 
expressed  in  18  :  5  ff.  by  Bildad,  whom  the  poet  makes  the  least 
original  of  the  friends.  They  are  unsuited  to  Job's  point  of  view 
and  are  out  of  place  here.  They  were  probably  transferred  from 
their  original  position  to  soften  somewhat  Job's  unorthodox 
utterances. 

9.  There  are  that  pluck.  If  we  remove  the  interpolation,  we 
may  translate  simply  "They  pluck."  The  sentence  continues 
the  description  of  v.  4,  and  the  subject  is  the  same  as  in  vs.  2-4. 
Of  the  poor.  Neither  the  text  nor  the  margin  affords  a  satis- 
factory sense.  As  several  scholars  have  noted,  by  a  change  in  one 
Hebrew  vowel  we  obtain  the  word  "suckling."  We  should  make 
the  change  and  read  : 

"  They  pluck  the  fatherless  from  the  breast, 
The  suckling  of  the  poor  they  take  in  pledge." 

10.  Naked  without  clothing.  These  poor  children,  reduced  to 
virtual  slavery,  are  not  properly  clothed.  An-hungred.  They 
are  underfed.  They  carry  the  sheaves.  They  are  put  to  hard 
labor  in  the  field. 

207 


THE  BOOK   OF  JOB 


11.  They  make  oil  ^  within  the  walls  of  these  men ; 
They  tread  their  winepresses,  and  suffer  thirst. 

12.  From  out  of  the  ^  populous  city  ^  men  groan, 
And  the  soul  of  ^  the  wounded  crieth  out : 
Yet  God  ^  imputeth  it  not  for  folly. 

13.  These  are  of  them  that  rebel  against  the  light ; 
They  know  not  the  ways  thereof, 

Nor  ®  abide  in  the  paths  thereof. 

14.  The   murderer  riseth  with  the  ^  light,  he  killeth 

the  poor  and  needy ; 
And  in  the  night  he  is  as  a  thief. 

1  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  in  distress.        *  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  city  and  houses,   m.  Heb.  city  of  men. 
»  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  are  thrust.  *  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  the  infants.  s  Syr.  Ar.  and 

perhaps  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  does  not  hear  their  prayer.  «  Gr.  OLat.  Syr.  Sah.  Eth.  walk. 

''  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  darkness. 

11.  They  make  oil.  The  verse  gives  further  details  of  the 
profitable  labor  to  which  the  wicked  men  put  the  boys  they  have 
so  cruelly  gained. 

12.  Populous  city.  The  versions  afford  the  better  reading, 
"From  out  the  city  and  houses."  The  wounded.  Again  follow 
the  versions  and  read  "the  infants."  The  reference  is  to  the 
sucklings  in  pledge  in  v.  9.  Child  labor  forces  groans  from 
them.  Imputeth  it  not  for  folly.  Once  more  follow  the  versions 
and  read,  "Yet  God  hears  not  their  prayer."  Job  charges  that 
God  appoints  no  day  of  judgment,  and  that  he  does  not  hear  the 
cries  of  distress  from  these  innocent  children.  No  wonder  that 
the  text  was  changed  in  the  interest  of  Jewish  orthodoxy ! 

13.  Against  the  light.  "Light"  is  not  used  in  a  moral  sense. 
These  men  prosecute,  as  the  following  verses  show,  their  nefarious 
practices  in  the  dark.  Abide.  The  parallelism  is  better  if  we 
follow  the  versions  and   read,   "Nor  walk  in  the  paths  thereof." 

14.  With  the  light.  With  the  versions  cited  above  we  should 
read,  "with  the  darkness."  Crimes  do  not  seek  the  light.  The 
poor  and  needy.  As  several  scholars  have  noted,  these  words 
do  not  afford  a  strong  sense.  The  murderer  is  not  so  apt  to  kill 
the  poor  as  somebody  against  whom  he  has  a  grudge.  Two  slight 
changes  in  the  Hebrew  would  make  out  of  these  words  "ad- 
versary" and  "enemy."  These  changes  should  be  made  so  as 
to  read,  "He  killeth  his  adversary  and  enemy."  He  is  as  a 
thief.     Merx  noted  that  one  letter  had  probably  fallen  out  of  the 

208 


THE  BOOK   OF  JOB 


15.  The  eye  also  of  the  adulterer  waiteth  for  the 

twilight, 
Saying,  No  eye  shall  see  me : 
And  he  ^  disguiseth  his  face. 

16.  In  the  dark  they  dig  through  houses : 

2  They  shut  themselves  up  in  the  day-time ; 
They  know  not  the  light. 

17.  For  3  the  morning  is  to  all  of  them  as  the  shadow 

of  death ; 
For  4  they  know  the   ^  terrors  of  the  shadow  of 
death. 


1  m.  Or,  putietha  covering  on  his  face.  2  m.  Or,  Which  they  had  marked  for  them- 

selves.    Syr.  Ax.  he  had  marked.         3  Syr.  Ar.  they  seek  for  themselves,  &*c.  ■«  Syr. 

they  find.         » Theod.  Eth.  terror.  ^ 


Hebrew.  If  we  restore  it,  we  may  translate,  "In  the  night  the 
thief  goeth  forth."  The  line  should  also  be  placed  after  v.  15. 
We  then  have  a  better  connection  with  v.  16,  and  three  kinds 
of  sinners,  murderers,  adulterers,  and  thieves,  mentioned  in  the 
same  order  as  in  the  ten  commandments. 

15.  Adulterer.  This  class  of  sinners  also  seek  darkness  and 
disguise  in  order  to  escape  notice. 

16.  In  the  dark  they  dig  through  houses.  "They  dig  "  should 
be  changed  to  "he  digs."  The  Hebrew  is  not  in  the  plural.  As 
noted  above,  the  last  line  of  v.  14  should  stand  immediately 
before  this.  They  shut  themselves  up  in  the  day-time.  The  con- 
text demands  that  we  render  this  as  in  the  margin,  except  that 
we  change  the  plural  to  a  singular  with  the  Syriac  and  Arabic  ver- 
sions. When  the  corrections  here  indicated  are  made  the  whole 
statement  about  the  thief  reads : 

"In  the  night  the  thief  goes  forth, 
In  the  dark  he  digs  through  houses 
Which  by  day  he  had  marked  for  himself." 

They  know  not  the  light.  This  statement  forms  the  general  sum- 
mary, and  refers  to  the  three  classes,  murderers,  adulterers  and 
thieves. 

17.  For  the  morning.  Probably  we  should  read  with  the 
version  cited,  "For  they  seek  for  themselves  the  deep  darkness." 
For  they  know  the  terrors.     Again  follow  the  versions  and  read, 

P  209 


THE  BOOK   OF  JOB 


i8.  ^  He  is  swift  upon  the  face  of  the  waters ; 

Their  portion  is  cursed  in  the  earth : 
He  turneth  not  by  the  way  of  the  vineyards. 

19.  Drought  and  heat  ^  consume  the  snow  waters  : 
So  doth  ^  Sheol  those  which  have  sinned. 

20.  The  womb  shall  forget  him ;   the  worm  shall  feed 

sweetly  on  him ; 
He  shall  be  no  more  remembered  : 
And  unrighteousness  shall  be  broken  ^  as  a  tree. 

21.  He  devoureth  the  barren  that  beareth  not ; 

1  m.  Or,  Ye  say,  He  is  b'c.  2  m.  Heb.  violently  take  away.         ^  m.  Or,  the  grave. 

*  m.  Or,  as  a  tree;  even  He  that  devoureth  &*c. 

"But  they  find  the  terror  of  death-shade."  The  verse,  with  its 
moralizing  tone,  is  out  of  harmony  with  Job's  theme  and  mood. 
It  was  probably  originally  with  vs.  18,  19-23,  24  a  part  of  the 
speech  of  Bildad  and  followed  25  :  6.  The  sentiments  are  similar 
to  those  expressed  by  Bildad  in  18:  10  ff. 

18.  He  is  swift.  This  belongs  with  vs.  17-22  and  is  probably 
a  part  of  Bildad's  speech.  But  in  that  connection  "he  "  refers  to 
God,  and  the  verse  continues  the  contrast  between  God  and  man. 
Their  portion  is  cursed  in  the  earth.  This  refers  again  to  men 
who  are  impure.  Perhaps  it  is  at  this  point  that  24  :  5-8  originally 
stood.  Placed  here,  they  show  how  "cursed"  the  lot  of  impure 
man  is.  He  turneth  not  by  the  way,  etc.  The  text  of  this  phrase 
is  hopelessly  corrupt.  It  is  impossible  to  extract  any  good  mean- 
ing from  it.  Probably  it  was  a  gloss  added  after  the  editorial  trans- 
fer of  the  passage  to  this  position. 

19.  Consume  the  snow  waters.  Even  from  lofty  mountains 
like  Hermon,  which  is  snow-capped  until  July  and  from  which 
refreshing  streams  flow  to  the  thirsty  country  around,  the  snow 
finally  disappears.  Sheol  .  .  .  sinned.  If  we  are  right  as  to 
the  connection  of  this  passage,  it  originally  followed  v.  22,  vs. 
19,  20  forming  the  conclusion  of  Bildad's  first  description  of  the 
punishment  of  the  wicked. 

20.  The  worm  shall  feed  sweetly  on  him.  The  phrase  is  the 
most  vivid  part  of  a  verse  which  continues  the  picture  of  the 
destruction  of  the  wicked  begun  in  v.  19. 

21.  He  devoureth  the  barren.  We  should  rather  render,  "  One 
devours  the  barren,"  etc.  The  verse  begins  the  description  of 
a  new  class  of  sinners.     For  the  rearrangement  of  the  text  see 


THE   BOOK  OF  JOB 


And  doeth  not  good  to  the  widow. 

22.  ^  He  draweth  away  the  ^ mighty  also  by  his  power : 
He  riseth  up,  and  no  man  is  sure  of  ^  Hfe. 

23.  God  giveth  them  to  be  in  security,  and  they  rest 

thereon ; 
^  And  his  eyes  are  upon  their  ways. 

24.  ^  They  are  exalted ;   yet  a  Httle  while,  and  they  are 

gone; 
®  Yea,  ^  they   are  brought   low,  they  are  ^  taken 
out  of  the  way  as  ®  all  other, 

1  m.  Or,  Yet  God  by  his  power  maketh  the  mighty  to  continue:  they  rise  up,  when  they 
believed  not  that  they  should  live.  ^  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  powerless.  ^  Gr.  Sym.  Vulg. 

Sah.  Eth.  his  life.  *  m.  Or,  But.  ^  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  His  exaltation.  «  m. 

Or,  And  when  they  are  &"€.  '  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  he  is.  ^  m.  Or,  gathered  in. 

»  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  salt-wort. 


below,  on   25 :  6.      Verses    21,   22    describe  a   class  of  powerful 
sinners  of  a  very  different  sort  from  that  which  had  preceded. 

22.  He  draweth  away.  The  marginal  rendering,  which  makes 
the  "He  "  refer  to  God,  is  not  a  happy  suggestion.  The  verse 
is  needed  to  complete  the  meaning  of  v,  21,  and  when  one  rec- 
ognizes that  it  was  probably  a  part  of  a  speech  of  Bildad,  the 
motive  for  the  marginal  change,  which  deals  somewhat  violently 
with  the  Hebrew  of  the  last  part  of  the  verse,  vanishes.  The 
mighty.  With  the  versions  cited  above  we  should  read  "the 
powerless."  The  heinousness  of  the  crime  of  these  mighty 
sinners  lies,  not  in  the  fact  that  they  destroy  other  mighty  ones 
like  themselves,  but  that  they  destroy  the  helpless.  Sure  of 
life.     Read  with  the  versions  cited,  "his  life." 

23.  God  giveth  them  to  be  in  security.  This  verse  resumes 
Job's  original  address  and  should  follow  v.  16.  After  describ- 
ing the  various  classes  of  sinners  that  flourish  in  the  dark,  Job 
declares  that  God  gives  them  their  protection.  He  makes  the 
darkness  which  shelters  them. 

24.  They  are  exalted.  With  the  versions  cited  read,  "He  is 
exalted."  As  several  scholars  have  recognized,  the  verse  is  an  in- 
terpolation in  Job's  speech,  contradicting  the  general  tenor  of 
his  thought.  Probably  it  forms  the  last  verse  of  the  third 
speech  of  Bildad,  connecting  directly  with  v.  22.  See  note  on 
25:6.  They  are  gone.  The  Hebrew  has  correctly  "he  is  gone." 
Yea,  they  are  brought  low.     Read  with  the  versions  cited,  "And 


THE   BOOK  OF  JOB 


And  ^  are  cut  off  as  the  tops  of  the  ears  of  corn. 
25.  And  if  it  be  not  so  now,  who  will  prove  me  a  liar, 

And  make  my  speech  nothing  worth  ? 

1  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  is. 


he  is  brought  low."  Are  taken  out  of  the  way.  As  other  scholars 
have  noticed,  this  should  be  corrected  to  "he  is  drawn  together" 
or  "withered."  All  other.  Read  with  the  versions  "like  salt- 
wort." This  was  undoubtedly  some  plant  that  withered  easily. 
Are  cut  off.     Read  with  the  versions  cited,  "is  cut  off." 

25.  If  it  be  not  so.  This  verse  resumes  Job's  speech  and  con- 
nects directly  with  v.  23.  Who  will  prove  me  a  liar?  With 
this  final  challenge  Job's  third  reply  to  Eliphaz  closes.  This 
section  of  the  speech,  when  the  interpolations  are  removed  and  the 
text  corrections  made,  reads  as  follows : 

Why  are  times  hidden  by  the  Almighty, 

That  they  who  know  him  see  not  his  days? 

The  wicked  remove  landmarks ; 

They  forcibly  remove  flocks  and  their  shepherds. 

Asses  of  orphans  they  drive  off ; 

They  take  in  pledge  the  widow's  ox. 

They  thrust  the  needy  from  the  way ; 

Together  the  poor  of  the  land  hide. 

They  pluck  the  fatherless  from  the  breast, 

The  suckling  of  the  poor  they  take  in  pledge. 

Naked  they  go  without  clothing. 

And  hungry  they  carry  the  sheaves. 

Within  their  walls  they  make  oil. 

They  tread  their  winepresses  and  suffer  thirst. 

From  the  city  and  houses  they  groan, 

The  souls  of  children  cry  out. 

Yet  their  prayer  God  hears  not ! 
13.        These  are  among  rebels  against  light; 

They  do  not  know  its  ways ; 

They  walk  not  in  its  paths. 
I4ab.    At  darkness  the  murderer  riseth ; 

He  kills  his  adversary  and  enemy. 
15.        Also  the  adulterer's  eye  awaits  twilight, 

Saying,  No  eye  shall  see  me ; 

And  he  puts  a  covering  on  his  face. 
14c.      Also  by  night  the  thief  goes  forth, 
i6ab.    In  the  dark  he  digs  through  houses 

Which  by  day  he  had  marked  for  himself. 


THE   BOOK  OF  JOB 


25 


15.   Bildad's  Third  Speech^  Ch.  25 

25.  Then  answered  Bildad  the  Shuhite,  and  said, 

2.  Dominion  and  fear  are  with  him ; 
He  maketh  peace  in  his  high  places. 

3.  Is  there  any  number  of  his  armies  ? 

And  upon  whom  doth  not  ^  his  light  arise  ? 

1  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  Ids  ambuscades. 

i6c.      They  do  not  know  the  light. 

23.       God  gives  them  security  and  they  rest, 

And  his  eye  is  on  their  ways. 
25.        If  it  isn't  so,  who  will  prove  me  a  liar, 

And  bring  my  words  to  nought? 

Ch.  25.  As  shown  in  the  notes  of  chs.  24  and  30,  and  the  notes 
on  25  :  6  below,  this  speech  has  in  all  probability  been  abbreviated 
by  the  transfer  of  a  considerable  portion  of  its  material  to  chs. 
24  and  30.  The  motive  for  this  editorial  transfer  was  to  soften 
the  blasphemy  of  Job's  utterances  against  God.  When  we  restore 
those  portions  to  what  was  probably  their  original  position,  the 
third  speech  of  Bildad  falls  into  three  parts,  consisting  of  the 
following  verses : 

(i)  The  purity  of  God  in  contrast  with  man,  25  :  1-6,  24:  17, 
18. 

(2)  The  fate  of  wretched  sinners,  24 :  5-8;    30 :  3-8. 

(3)  The  fate  of  powerful  sinners,  24:  21,  22,  19,  20,  24. 

A  reconstruction  of  the  last  part  of  the  speech  is  given  in  the 
note  on  25  :  6. 

2.  Dominion  and  fear  are  with  him.  Bildad's  opening  words 
are  a  reply  to  Job's  charge  in  the  preceding  chapter  that  God 
encourages  and  protects  crime.  Bildad  declares  that  God  has 
not  only  power  (dominion),  but  suggests  that  he  so  exercises 
it  as  to  produce  reverence  and  fear.  He  maketh  peace  in  the 
high  places.  So  far  from  countenancing  crime,  God  is  the  es- 
tablisher  of  peace,  Bildad  asserts. 

3.  Number  of  his  armies.  Bildad  refers  once  more  to  the 
familiar  thought  of  God's  power.  His  light  arise.  The  Hebrew 
text  is_  to  be  preferred  to  the  versions  cited.  So  far  from  en- 
couraging sin  by  darkness  Bildad  asserts  that  God's  light  shines 
everywhere.  Light,  too,  is  pure,  and  this  suggests  the  contrast 
between  God  and  man  which  follows. 

213 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


4.  How  then  can  man  be  just  ^  with  God  ? 

Or  how  can  he  be  clean  that  is  born  of  a  woman  ? 

5.  Behold,  2  even  the  moon  ^  hath  no  brightness, 
And  the  stars  are  not  pure  in  his  sight : 

6.  How  much  less  man,  that  is  a  worm  ! 
And  the  son  of  man,  which  is  a  worm  ! 

» m.  Or,  before.  2  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  he  commandeth.  ^  i  Heb.  MS.  Gr.  Vulg. 

Targ.  Sah.  Eth.  and  it  doth  not  shine. 

4.  How  then  can  man  be  just  with  God  ?  This  has  in  the  pre- 
ceding speeches  been  a  favorite  thought  with  Eliphaz,  see  4:  17 
and  15  :  14.  It  was  a  fundamental  point  of  the  theology  of  the 
friends.  This  theology  clearly  belongs  to  a  post-prophetic 
period,  when  the  conception  of  God  was  approaching  that  of 
the  Priestly  document. 

5.  Even  the  moon  hath  no  brightness.  It  is  not  easy  without 
forcing  the  Hebrew  to  make  it  yield  this  translation.  It  is  better 
to  read  with  the  authorities  cited  above : 

"Behold  he  commandeth  the  moon  and  it  shines  not." 

6.  How  much  less  man.  Bildad  here  returns  to  enforce  the 
thought  expressed  in  v.  4. 

Many  scholars  have  recognized  that  it  is  hardly  possible  that 
the  speech  of  Bildad  concluded  here.  For  reasons  given  in  the 
Introduction,  p.  33  ff,  and  in  the  notes  on  chs.  24  and  30  it  is  proba- 
ble that  the  speech  was  originally  continued  by  the  following 
verses  from  those  chapters  : 

24 :  17.    "  For  they  seek  for  themselves  the  deep  darkness. 

But  they  experience  the  terror  of  death-shade. 
18.      He  is  swift  upon  the  face  of  the  waters. 

Their  portion  is  cursed  in  the  earth. 
24:  5.        Like  wild  asses  they  go  out. 

To  their  work  of  seeking  prey ; 

Sweet  is  bread  to  their  children. 

6.  In  the  field  by  night  they  reap, 

And  the  vintage  of  the  rich  they  glean. 

7.  Naked  they  pass  the  night  unclothed. 
And  in  the  cold  have  no  covering. 

8.  With  the  showers  of  the  mountains  they  are  wet, 
And  without  shelter  hug  the  rock. 

30 :  3.         They  are  lifeless  from  want  and  famine. 
They  flee  to  the  wilderness, 
The  mother  of  waste  and  desolation. 
214 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB  26:2 


16.   Job's  Third  Reply  to  Bildad,  Ch.  26 

26.  Then  Job  answered  and  said, 

2.  How  hast  thou  helped  him  that  is  without  power  ! 

4.  They  pluck  salt-wort  by  the  shrubs, 
And  roots  of  broom  are  their  food. 

5.  From  people  they  are  thrust  out, 
They  cry  after  them  as  after  a  thief. 

6.  In  most  dreadful  valleys  they  dwell, 
In  holes  of  the  earth  and  the  rocks. 

7.  Among  the  bushes  they  bray  ; 
Under  the  chick-pea  they  couple. 

8.  Offspring  of  fools,  yes,  offspring  of  nameless  men, 
They  are  scourged  out  of  the  land. 

24:  21.      One  devours  the  barren  that  beareth  not, 

And  doeth  not  good  to  the  widow. 
22.      He  drags  off  the  powerless  by  his  strength. 

He  rises  up  and  no  one  is  sure  of  his  life. 
24:  19.      Drought  and  heat  consume  the  snow  waters, 

Sheol,  sinners. 
20.      The  womb  shall  forget  him; 

The  worm  feeds  sweetly  on  him  ; 

No  longer  shall  he  be  remembered. 

For  broken  like  a  tree  is  unrighteousness. 
24.      His  exaltation  is  brief,  and  he  is  gone, 

He  is  brought  low  and  withers  like  salt-wort 

And  cut  off  like  the  top  of  an  ear  of  corn." 

(For  comments  on  these  verses,  see  the  notes  on  ch.  24.)  Of 
course  it  is  not  certain  that  just  these  verses  and  no  more  formed 
the  speech  of  Bildad.  Several  scholars  have  proposed  different 
reconstructions,  in  which,  with  a  few  verses  from  ch.  24,  they  have 
included  parts  of  ch.  26  or  27  which,  as  shown  below  in  notes  on 
those  chapters,  the  present  writer  would  assign  to  Job  and  to 
Zophar's  third  speech.  Some  reconstruction  is  necessary,  as  has 
been  shown  in  the  Introduction,  p.  33.  While  no  reconstruction 
can  be  regarded  as  more  than  tentative,  the  writer  holds  that  the 
above  best  fulfils  all  the  conditions. 

(i)   Bildad  has  never  helped  the  men  whom  he  decries  to  he  better ^ 

26 :  1-5 

2.  How  hast  thou  helped  him  that  is  without  power !  Eliphaz 
had  charged  Job  in  22:7  with  refusal  to  help  the  weary  and 
hungry,  and  Bildad,  if  we  have  correctly  reconstructed  his  third 

215 


THE   BOOK  OF  JOB 


How  hast   thou   saved   the  arm   that  hath  no 
strength ! 

3.  How  hast  thou  counselled  him  that  hath  not 

wisdom, 
^  And  plentifully  declared  sound  knowledge  ! 

4.  To  whom  hast  thou  uttered  words  ? 
And  whose  ^  spirit  came  forth  from  thee  ? 

5.  ^  They  that  are  deceased  tremble 

Beneath  the  waters  and  the  inhabitants  thereof. 

1  Gr.  OLat.  Eth.  And  declared  sound  wisdom  to  him  who  had  not  much  strength. 
Sah.  no  strength.  2  m.  Heb.  breath.  ^  m.  Or,  the  shades.     Heb.  Rephaim. 

speech  (see  note  on  25  :  6),  had  taken  great  delight  in  contrasting 
the  impurity  of  man  with  the  purity  of  God.  Job,  exasperated, 
replies  with  an  argnnientum  ad  hominem,  and  asks.  What  have  you 
ever  done  to  help  men? 

3.  Plentifully  declared  sound  knowledge.  The  parallelism 
demands  that  we  read  with  the  Sahidic  version : 

"And  declared  sound  wisdom  to  him  who  had  no  strength." 

4.  Whose  spirit  came  forth  from  thee  ?  As  the  margin  notes, 
the  Hebrew  has  "breath  "  instead  of  "spirit."  Job  asks  in  sub- 
stance, "To  whom  hast  thou  given  new  courage,  which  was  like 
the  breath  of  life  to  the  recipient?  " 

5.  They  that  are  deceased.  Even  if  with  the  margin  we  read 
"The  shades,"  the  thought  is  the  same.  Bildad  might  have 
been  the  "breath  of  life  "  to  these  people,  but  he  permitted  them 
by  his  neglect  to  join  the  shades  in  Sheol.  Beneath  the  waters 
and  the  inhabitants  thereof.  Sheol,  the  abode  of  the  dead,  was 
under  the  earth.  There  was  not  only  a  great  sea  on  the  earth, 
but  an  abyss  under  the  earth  also,  see  Gen.  7:  n;  Ex.  20:4. 
The  sea  was  nown  to  be  full  of  monsters,  and  mythical  poetry 
known  to  the  author  of  Job  had  pictured  it  with  kinds  as  awful 
as  could  possibly  be  imagined  (see  quotation  in  the  note  on  9  : 
13).  Possibly  these  terrible  creatures  were  thought  to  infest 
the  subterranean  ocean  also.  At  any  rate  the  passage  supposes 
that  the  dead  would  be  exposed  to  them.  Some  scholars  have 
suggested  that  by  making  a  slight  change  in  the  Hebrew  letters 
we  could  read : 

"  And  they  fear  the  waters  and  their  inhabitants." 
This  would  give  a  more  forcible  meaning. 

216 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


6.  1  Sheol  is  naked  before  him, 
And  2  Abaddon  hath  no  covering. 

7.  He  stretcheth  out  the  north  over  empty  space, 
And  hangeth  the  earth  ^  upon  nothing. 

8.  He  bindeth  up  the  waters  in  his  thick  clouds ; 
And  the  cloud  is  not  rent  under  them. 

9.  He  closeth  in  the  face  of  his  throne, 
And  spreadeth  his  cloud  upon  it. 


1  m.  Or,  The  grave.  ^  m.  Or,  destruction.  '  m.  Or,  over. 

2.   God  sees  everything  and  is  all-powerful,  hut  is  himself  inscru- 
table, 26  :  6-14 

6.  Sheol  is  naked  before  him.  "  Him  "  refers  to  God.  Bildad 
had  in  his  last  speech  (ch.  25  and  additions)  placed  the  purity  of 
God  and  man  in  contrast.  Job  in  this  speech  puts  in  contrast 
their  strength  and  knowledge.  His  indignation  at  Bildad  led  him 
in  his  treatment  of  humanity  to  make  a  personal  application  to 
that  speaker.  Having  set  forth  by  one  powerful  touch  in  y.  5  the 
terrible  fears  which  confront  the  dead  as  they  descend  into  the 
dark  unknown,  he  naturally  passes  to  describe  again  the  knowledge 
and  power  of  God.  This  has  been  a  favorite  theme  with  Job,  see 
9  :  I  ff. ;  ch.  12,  etc.  Sheol,  though  hidden  from  man,  God  knows 
all  about.     Abaddon.     A  part  of  Sheol.     See  note  on  28 :  22. 

7.  The  north.  Some  regard  this  as  a  reference  to  the  pole 
star,  others,  to  the  earthly  mountains  of  the  north.  The  par- 
allelism of  the  next  line  favors  the  last-mentioned  view.  Hangeth 
the  earth  upon  nothing.  This  is  a  striking  phrase,  almost  seem- 
ing to  anticipate  modern  views.  It  is  hardly  consistent  with 
9 :  6,  where,  as  in  Ps.  75  :  3,  the  usual  view  of  the  ancients  that 
the  earth  was  supported  by  pillars  is  expressed.  The  poet  had 
apparently  outgrown  that  view,  though  he  could  use  it  still  in 
a  poetic  metaphor.  That  he  entertained  anything  like  our 
modern  scientific  theories,  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose.  He 
simply  refers  to  the  fact  that  one  of  the  mysteries  of  the  universe 
is  how  the  earth  is  supported. 

8.  Waters  in  his  thick  clouds.  How  clouds  could  hold  moisture 
was  another  mystery. 

9.  Closeth  in  the  face  of  his  throne.  Whatever  the  mystery 
of  the  clouds,  they  help  to  hide  God's  dwelling  place. 

217 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


10.  He  hath  described  a  boundary  upon  the  face  of 

the  waters, 
Unto  the  confines  of  Hght  and  darkness. 

11.  The  pillars  of  heaven  tremble 
And  are  astonied  at  his  rebuke. 

12.  ^  He  stirreth  up  the  sea  with  his  power, 

And  by  his  understanding  he  smiteth  through 
2  Rahab. 

^  Syr.  Ar.  He  rebuketk  the  sea.     Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  He  sHlleth  the  sea.  m.  Or,  stilleth.     *  m. 
See  9:13. 

10.  A  boundary  Upon  the  face  of  the  waters.  The  "  boundary  " 
is  the  shore  of  the  sea  (the  Babylonians  called  it  the  "salt  river  ") 
which  surrounds  the  earth.  "Upon  the  face  of  the  waters" 
suggests  that  here  we  have  still  a  different  conception  of  how  the 
earth  is  supported.  Two  others  have  been  expressed  in  9 :  6  and 
26  :  7  (see  notes).  Here,  however,  the  earth  is  conceived  as 
resting  on  the  "face  of  the  waters."  It  is  afloat  on  the  deep.  It 
is  the  conception  of  Gen.  7:  11;  Ex.  20:4;  and  of  v.  5  above. 
In  matters  of  science  the  poet  does  not  force  himself  to  be  con- 
sistent. The  knowledge  of  the  time  was  hazy.  Various  myths 
floated  in  the  air,  some  of  which  the  more  thoughtful  had  out- 
grown. The  poet  represents  his  characters  as  using  now  one, 
now  another,  of  these  as  suits  his  purpose.  The  characters  thus 
appear  to  give  house-room  to  inconsistent  ideas,  just  as  many 
people  do  to-day.  The  confines  of  light  and  darkness.  Within 
the  firmament  or  overarching  sky  all  was  supposed  to  be  light ; 
beyond  this  was  darkness.  Where  sky  and  sea  meet,  the  confines 
of  light  and  darkness  were  thought  to  be. 

11.  The  pillars  of  heaven.  These  were  the  mountains  which 
were  supposed  to  be  at  the  confines  of  the  earth.  The  Baby- 
lonians pictured  the  sun  as  arising  out  of  them.  These  sup- 
ported, they  thought,  the  heavens  so  that  its  weight  should  not 
rest  on  the  unstable  sea.  Tremble.  When  it  thunders  the  very 
mountains  at  times  seem  to  shake.  This  is  poetically  conceived 
to  be  God's  rebuke  of  them. 

12.  He  stirreth  up  the  sea.  With  the  margin  and  some  of  the 
versions  we  should  read  "stilleth,"  or  with  other  versions,  "re- 
buketh."  The  next  clause  shows  this  to  be  necessary.  Smiteth 
through  Rahab.  "Rahab"  is  a  Hebrew  name  for  a  Baby- 
lonian mythical  sea  monster  Tiamat,  who  figures  largely  in 
the  Babylonian  Creation  poem.     A  reference  to  her  was  made 

218 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


13.  1  By  his  spirit  the  heavens  are  ^  garnished; 

His  hand  hath  pierced  the  ^  swift  serpent. 


1  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  The  bars  of  heaven  fear  him.  2  m.  Heb.  heauiy. 

Ox,  fleeing,  or,  gliding. 


by  Job  in  ch.  9  (see  note  on  9  :  13).     The  reference  here  is  to  how 

the  monster  was  overcome.  The  Babylonian  description  is  as 
follows : 

"  Then  advanced  Tiamat  and  Marduk,  champion  of  the  gods ; 

To  the  fight  they  came,  to  battle  drew  near. 

Wide  the  Lord  spread  his  net  to  enclose  her ; 

The  evil  wind  from  behind  he  let  loose  in  her  face. 

Tiamat  opened  her  mouth  as  wide  as  she  could, 

He  drove  in  the  bad  wind  before  she  closed  her  lips. 

The  mighty  winds  tortured  her  bowels. 

Robbed  of  her  courage  she  opened  wide  her  mouth ; 

The  spear  he  seized,  he  pierced  her  body, 

Her  entrails  he  tore  out,  he  took  her  heart ; 

He  conquered  her  and  destroyed  her  life ; 

Her  body  he  cast  down ;  upon  it  he  stood." 

This   victory   the   poet,   like   all   Hebrews   who  borrowed  from 
Babylonian  mythological  lore,  attributes  to  Jehovah. 

13.  By  his  spirit  the  heavens  are  garnished.  In  the  context  this 
seems  an  irrelevant  statement.  We  should  read  with  the  ver- 
sions cited  above,  "The  bars  of  heaven  fear  him"  — "bars' 
meaning  the  bolts  or  bars  with  which  gates  were  fastened.  The  im- 
agery is  still  borrowed  from  the  Babylonian  Creation  poem,  as 
in  V.  12.  After  that  poem  had  finished  the  description  of  the 
defeat  of  Tiamat  and  her  brood,  a  part  of  which  is  quoted  in  the 
note  on  v.   12,  it  continues: 

"The  Lord  rested,  on  her  body  he  looked; 

The  body  .  .  .  dividing,  he  formed  a  cunning  plan. 

Like  a  flat  fish  he  split  her  into  two  halves ; 

One  half  of  her  he  stablished,  he  roofed  over  the  heavens. 

A  bolt  he  fixed,  a  watchman  he  set, 

Not  to  let  out  her  waters,  he  commanded." 

The  meaning  of  the  passage  in  Job  is  much  clearer,  if  we  emend 
the  text  with  the  versions  and  understand  the  "fear"  of  the 
"bars  "  to  be  fear  to  violate  the  command  of  Jehovah  not  to  let 
out  the  celestial  waters.  Compare  the  water  which  came  through 
the  "windows  of  heaven  "  in  Gen.  7:11.  Swift  serpent.  This, 
whether  we  translate  as  the  margin  suggests  or  not,  is  a  reference 

219 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


14.        Lo,  these  are  but  the  outskirts  of  his  ways : 

And  ^  how  small  a  whisper  ^  do  we  hear  of  him  ! 
But  the  thunder  of  his  ^  power  who  can  understand  ? 

16.  JoVs  Third  Reply  to  Zophar,  27  :  1-6,  12  ;  Chs.  29-31 

27.  And  Job  again  took  up  his  parable,  and  said, 

2.        As  God  liveth,  who  hath  taken  away  my  right ; 

1  m.  Or,  how  little  a  portion.  ^  m.  Or,  is  heard.  ^  m.  Or,  mighty  deeds. 

to  the  conquered  Tiamat,  who  is  often  pictured  in  Babylonian 
art  as  a  serpent. 

14.  These  are  but  the  outskirts  of  his  ways.  Job  declares 
that  the  revelations  of  God  in  his  works,  wonderful  as  they  are, 
are  just  enough  to  make  us  dread  his  power,  while  baffled  by  the 
mysteries.  The  mystery  of  God  is  one  upon  which  Job  had  often 
dwelt  with  indignation  in  earlier  parts  of  the  poem.  As  he  thought 
how  God  was  treating  him,  he  had  spoken  with  anger.  His  thought 
is  here  turning  a  little  more  away  from  himself  to  contemplate 
more  calmly  the  mystery  of  God.  With  the  statement  of  this 
mystery  the  present  speech  closes. 

(i)    Job  swears  that  he  is  innocent,  27  :  1-6 

1.  Job  again  took  up  his  parable.  These  words  were  in  all 
probability  inserted  by  the  editor  who  rearranged  the  material 
in  chs.  24-29.  The  usual  formula  of  the  poet  is  "And  Job  an- 
swered and  said  "  ;  we  should  doubtless  restore  that  here.  This 
verse,  too,  with  vs.  2-6  and  12  should  come  after  v.  23,  vs.  7- 
II,  13-23  being  Zophar's  third  speech.  In  ch.  26  Job  replied  to 
Bildad.  According  to  the  plan  of  the  poem  an  address  of  Zpphar 
should  come  next.  These  verses,  1-6,  12,  form  the  beginning  of 
Job's  reply  to  Zophar's  third  speech.  See  Introduction,  p.  36 
and  notes  on  vs.  6  and  7  below.  This  rearrangement  is  indicated 
by  the  numbering  of  the  section  of  the  text, 

2.  As  God  liveth.  Eliphaz  had  in  his  last  speech  directly 
charged  Job  with  specific  sins  (22:4  £f.),  Bildad  in  his  had  im- 
plied it  (see  reconstruction  in  note  on  25  :  6,  also  24  :  5-8  ;  24  : 
19-23),  while  Zophar  in  his  last  effort  (27:  7-23)  had  also  as- 
sumed it,  as,  like  Bildad,  he  expatiated  upon  the  punishment  of 
the  wicked.  Job  accordingly  begins  this,  his  last  utterance  before 
Jehovah  answers  him  out  of  the  whirlwind,  by  swearing  his  in- 
nocence in  the  most  solemn  manner.  "As  God  liveth"  is  the 
formula  for  an  oath,  see  i  Sam.  i :  26  ;  17  :  55  ;  2  Sam.  14 :  19  ;  etc. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


And  the  Almighty,  who  hath  ^  vexed  my  soul ; 

3.  2  (^Yor  my  Ufe  is  yet  whole  in  me, 

And  the  spirit  of  God  is  in  my  nostrils ;) 

4.  Surely  my  lips  ^  shall  not  speak  unrighteousness, 
Neither  ^  shall  my  tongue  utter  deceit. 

5.  God  forbid  that  I  should  justify  you : 

Till  I  die  I  will  not  put  away  mine  integrity  from  me. 

6.  My  righteousness  I  hold  fast,  and  will  not  let  ^  it  go : 
My  heart  ^  shall  not  reproach  me  so  long  as  I  Hve. 

17.   Zo pharos  Third  Speech,  in  which  the  Hopelessness  of  the 
Godless  is  set  forth,  27  :  7-1 1,  13-23 

7.  Let  mine  enemy  be  as  the  wicked, 

And   let   him  that  riseth  up  against  me  be  as  the 
unrighteous. 

1  m.  Heb.  made  my  soul  Utter.  ^  m.  Or,  All  the  while  my  breath  is  in  me  .  .  .  nostrils; 
surely.  «  m.  Or,  do.  *  m.  Or,  doth.  °  Gr.  OLat.  Theod.  Syr.  Vulg.  Sah.  Eth. 
omit  it.        ^  m.  Or,  doth  not  reproach  me  for  any  of  my  days. 

3.  For  my  life  is  yet  whole  in  me.  The  rendering  of  the  text 
is  to  be  preferred  to  that  of  the  margin.  The  verse  is  a  paren- 
thesis. The  oath-formula  stands  in  v.  2,  the  contents  of  the 
oath  in  v,  4.  This  parenthesis  states  the  relevant  fact  that  Job 
is  still  sane.  His  body  may  be  wasted  with  disease,  but  his  mind 
is  yet  clear.  This  is  said  to  anticipate  objections  which  might  be 
raised,  on  the  ground  of  his  condition,  against  the  assertion  of  v.  4. 

4.  My  lips  shall  not  speak  unrighteousness.  The  marginal 
reading  is  better.  Job  does  not  mean  that  he  never  will  speak 
falsely,  but  that  in  the  present  instance  he  is  not  doing  so. 

5.  Should  justify  you.  By  an  admission  of  guilt.  Such  an 
admission  would  be  putting  away  mine  integrity. 

6.  My  righteousness  I  hold  fast.  Neither  Job's  sufferings 
nor  the  arguments  of  his  friends  had  shaken  him  from  this. 
My  heart  shall  not  reproach  me.  The  margin,  "my  heart  doth 
not  reproach  me,"  is  better.  Job  is  true  to  conscience.  In  the 
face  of  God  and  the  king  of  terrors  he  had  seen  that  only  fidelity 
to  truth  would  stand  (see  13  :  16) ;  this  vision  still  sustains  him. 
The  remainder  of  this  last  long  speech  of  Job  is  found  in  v.  12 
and  29:1  ff.     See  the  notes  there. 

7.  Let  mine  enemy  be  as  the  wicked.     As  other  commenta- 


THE   BOOK   OF   JOB 


8.  For  what  is  the  hope  of  the  godless,  ^  though  he 

get  him  gain, 
When  God  taketh  away  his  soul  ? 

9.  Will  God  hear  his  cry, 

When  trouble  cometh  upon  him  ? 

10.  Will  he  delight  himself  in  the  Almighty, 
And  call  ^  upon  God  ^  at  all  times  ? 

11.  I  will  teach  you  concerning  the  hand  of  God; 
That  which  is  with  the  Almighty  will  I  not  con- 
ceal. 

12.  Behold,  all  ye  yourselves  have  seen  it; 

1  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  that  he  should  hope.  m.  Or,  when  God  culteth  him  of,  when  he 
taketh  &°c.      2  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  unto  him.    ^  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  will  be  entreated  oj  him. 

tors  have  perceived,  the  last  speech  of  Zophar  originally  began 
here.  Doubtless  it  was  preceded  by  the  usual  phrase,  "Then 
answered  Zophar,  the  Naamathite,  and  said"  (cf.  20:1).  An 
editor  remodelled  chs.  24-29  so  as  to  make  it  appear  that  a  part 
of  Bildad's  last  speech  and  all  of  Zophar's  were  uttered  by  Job. 
This  made  it  appear  that  Job  was  not  so  antagonistic  to  the 
orthodox  doctrines  of  the  time  as  he  otherwise  appeared  to  be 
(see  Introduction,  p.  36  ff.).  Zophar  is  so  sure  of  the  terrible  fate 
of  the  wicked  man  that  he  can  think  of  no  more  fitting  wish  to 
utter  against  his  worst  enemy  than  that  that  fate  should  be  his. 
8.  Though  he  get  him  gain.  We  should  read  with  the  margin, 
"when  God  cutteth  him  ofi."  The  reasoning  is,  that  God  cuts 
off  the  sinful  man  early,  rewarding  the  righteous  with  long  life. 
The  sinner,  when  cut  off,  has  no  hope. 

10.  And  call  upon  God  at  all  times?  As  this  stands  it  can 
only  mean  "will  he  call  upon  God  throughout  his  life?"  — 
a  question  which  fits  the  context  badly.  We  should  emend  the 
text  with  the  versions  cited  above,  making  the  verse  read : 

"Will  he  delight  himself  in  the  Almighty? 
Should  he  call  on  him,  would  he  be  entreated  of  him?  " 

11.  Teach  you.     Probably  originally  it  read  "teach  thee." 

12.  All  ye  yourselves  have  seen  it.  As  some  commentators 
have  perceived,  this  verse  is  a  fragment  of  Job's  address  to  his 
friends.  It  follows  v.  6,  closing  his  last  reply  to  them,  before 
he  reviews  his  case  and  makes  his  final  appeal  to  God  in  chs. 
29-31. 

222 


THE  BOOK  OF   JOB 


Why  then  are  ye  become  altogether  vain  ? 

13.  This  is  the  portion  of  a  wicked  man  with  God, 
And    the    heritage    of    oppressors,    which    they 

receive  from  the  Almighty. 

14.  If  his  children  be  multiplied,  it  is  for  the  sword; 
And  his  offspring  shall  not  be  satisfied  with  bread. 

15.  Those  that  remain  of  him  shall  be  buried  in  death, 
And  ^  his  widows  shall  make  no  lamentation. 

16.  Though  he  heap  up  silver  as  the  dust. 
And  prepare  ^  raiment  as  the  clay ; 

17.  He  may  prepare  it,  but  the  just  shall  put  it  on, 
And  the  innocent  shall  divide  the  silver. 

1  Gr.  Syr.  Sah.  Eth.  their.  '  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  gold. 


13.  This  is  the  portion  of  a  wicked.  This  verse  connects  with 
the  thought  of  v.  11  and  continues  Zophar's  speech.  Having 
made  a  general  statement  about  the  fate  of  the  wicked,  he  now 
proceeds  to  describe  it  in  detail.  Oppressors  .  .  .  they.  Should 
probably  be  "the  oppressor  ...  he  receives." 

14.  If  his  children  be  multiplied,  it  is  for  the  sword.  Zophar 
now  states  in  a  more  bald  way  what  Eliphaz  had  said  on  this  point 
in  5  :  4  and  Bildad  in  18  :  19.  When  it  is  remembered  that  Job's 
children  were  killed  in  this  way,  and  that  the  poet  makes  him 
express  delight  in  the  frolics  of  children  (21  :  11),  and  wist- 
fully long  for  the  days  when  his  children  were  about  him  (29 :  5), 
it  is  inconceivable  in  the  face  of  Job's  protestations  of  innocence 
(27  :  2-6)  that  the  poet  should  have  put  this  statement  in  Job's 
mouth.     It  clearly  belongs  to  Zophar. 

15.  Those  that  remain  of  him.  His  surviving  dependents  or 
slaves.  Punishment  was  not  to  be  confined  to  his  children. 
His  widows.  We  should  read  with  the  versions  cited,  "Their 
widows,"  i.e.  the  widows  of  the  dependents. 

16.  Prepare  raiment.  Costly  garments  are  in  the  East  one  of 
the  forms  of  investment  for  accumulated  wealth  (cf.  Matt.  6 :  19, 
20). 

17.  The  just  shall  put  it  on.  This  is  the  orthodox  doctrine 
of  the  time  that  the  just  obtained  all  the  good  things.  Job 
had  vigorously  protested  against  it  (see  ch.  21).  "Put  on" 
shows  that  the  reading  of  the  versions  ("gold  ")  in  v.  16  is  wrong. 

223 


THE   BOOK   OF  JOB 


i8.  He  buildeth  his  house  as  the  ^  moth, 

And  as  a  booth  which  the  keeper  maketh. 

19.  He  Heth  down  rich,  but  he  ^  shall  not  be  gathered ; 
He  openeth  his  eyes,  and  he  is  not. 

20.  Terrors  overtake  him  hke  waters ; 

A  tempest  stealeth  him  away  in  the  night. 

21.  The  east  wind  carrieth  him  away,  and  he  de- 

parteth ; 
And  it  sweepeth  him  out  of  his  place. 

22.  For  God  shall  hurl  at  him,  and  not  spare : 
He  would  fain  flee  out  of  his  hand. 

23.  Men  shall  clap  their  hands  at  him, 
And  shall  hiss  him  out  of  his  place. 

1  SjT.  Ar.  spider.  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  moth  and  spider,  m.  Some  ancient  versions 
have,  spider.  2  m.  Some  ancient  versions  [Gr.  OLat.  Syr.  Sah.  Eth.  Ar.]  have,  shall 
do  so  no  more. 

18.  As  the  moth.  We  should  read  with  the  Syriac,  etc., 
"spider."  The  frailty  of  the  spider's  v^eb  makes  the  comparison 
here  very  strong.  As  a  booth  which  the  keeper  maketh.  A 
booth  was  a  frail  structure  in  a  vineyard  for  the  shelter  of  the 
night  watchman  during  the  grape  season ;   compare  Isa.  i  :  8. 

19.  He  shall  not  be  gathered.  Read  with  the  versions  cited, 
"shall  do  so  no  more."  He  openeth  his  eyes,  and  he  is  not. 
Sudden  death  takes  him  in  sleep.  The  Hebrews  were  not  averse 
to  such  contradictory  statements  as  this  line  contains.  Thus 
we  have  in  2  Kgs.  19  :  35  "  when  they  arose  in  the  morning,  behold 
they  were  all  dead  corpses." 

20.  Terrors.  The  terrors  of  death  coming  in  ways  described 
in  the  following  verses. 

21.  The  east  wind.  The  scorching  sirocco,  which  saps  one's 
very  life.  Sweepeth  him.  It  is  gusty  and  tempestuous  (Ps. 
48:7). 

23.  Clap  their  hands  at  him.  The  idea  of  the  last  couplet  of 
the  verse  is  that  men  shall  scorn  him  and  his  memory.  Some 
scholars  regard  it  as  an  anticlimax  and  hold  the  verse  to  be  a 
gloss,  but  there  seems  no  sufficient  reason  to  doubt  that  the  speech 
of  Zophar  may  have  ended  in  this  way.  He  may  naturally  have 
reasoned  that  it  was  an  additional  punishment  to  have  the  scorn 
of  men  added  to  the  judgments  of  God. 

224 


THE   BOOK  OF  JOB  2S 


An  Interpolated  Poem  on  Wisdom,  Ch.  28 

1.  Precious  Metals  and  Gems  are  found  in  Mines,  but  not 

Wisdom,  vs.   1-6,  9-12 

2.  No  Bird,  Beast  of  Prey,  or  Man  has  seen  its  Path,  vs. 

7,  8,  13-19 

3.  Wisdom  is  nowhere  in  the  Universe  except  with  God, 

vs.  20-28 

28.       1  Surely  there  is  a  mine  for  silver, 

And  a  place  for  gold  which  they  refine. 
2.  Iron  is  taken  out  of  the  ^  earth, 

And  brass  is  molten  out  of  the  stone. 

1  m.  Or,  For.  2  m.  Or,  dust. 

1.  Surely.  As  the  margin  shows,  this  word  may  be  translated 
"for."  That  would  seem  at  first  sight  to  connect  it  with  ch.  27, 
but  logical  connection  with  that  chapter  has  been  sought  in 
vain.  Duhm  has  suggested  that  "Where  shall  wisdom  be 
found?  "  runs  like  a  refrain  through  the  chapter,  and  that  the 
question  once  stood  at  the  beginning  of  the  poem.  This  seems 
probable,  and  if  it  were  so,  the  "for  "  would  come  in  very  natu- 
rally. If  the  question  stood  at  the  beginning,  it  must  have  been 
removed  by  the  editor  who  made  the  insertion  to  make  the  "for  " 
connect  with  the  previous  chapter.  Mine.  The  Hebrew  word 
means  "an  issue  "  or  "source,"  but  the  description  which  follows 
shows  that  a  mine  is  intended  here.  This  is  the  only  extended 
reference  to  mining  in  the  Old  Testament.  Although  Deut.  8 :  9 
described  Palestine  as  "aland  whose  stones  are  iron,  and  out  of 
whose  hills  thou  mayest  dig  copper,"  we  have  no  knowledge  that 
mining  was  practised  in  Palestine  itself.  There  were,  however, 
mines  in  Lebanon,  Idumaea,  the  peninsula  of  Sinai,  and  in  Egypt. 
If  the  poet  had  never  visited  these,  he  must  have  had  ample 
opportunity  to  hear  about  them. 

2.  Iron.  Knowledge  of  the  use  of  iron  appears  in  history 
considerably  later  than  the  use  of  copper.  The  earliest  known 
iron  has  recently  been  found  in  Egypt  in  remains  of  about  1800 
B.C.  The  use  of  it  was  apparently  just  making  its  way  into  Israel 
from  Philistia  in  the  time  of  Saul  (i  Sam.  13  :  19).  That  was, 
however,  several  centuries  before  our  poet.  Brass.  Better, 
"  copper." 

Q  225 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


3.  Man  setteth  an  end  to  darkness, 

And  searcheth  out  to  the  furthest  bound 
The  stones  of  thick  darkness  and  of  the  shadow 
of  death. 

4.  ^  He  breaketh  open  a  shaft  ^  away  from  where 

men  sojourn ; 
They  are  forgotten  of  the  foot  that  passeth  by; 
They  hang  afar  from  men,  they  ^  swing  to  and  fro. 

5.  As  for  the  earth,  out  of  it  cometh  bread : 

And  underneath  it  is  turned  up  as  it  were  by  fire. 


1  m.  Or,  The  flood  breaketh  out  from  where  men  sojourn;  even  the  weiters  forgotten  of 
the  foot:  they  are  minished,  they  are  gone  away  from  man.  ^  Gr.  Aq.  Theod.  Sym. 

Eth.  out  of  dust.  3  m.  Or,  flit. 

3.  Setteth  an  end  to  darkness.  By  letting  in  the  light  when 
he  digs  a  mine. 

4.  He  breaketh  open  a  shaft.  The  word  translated  "shaft  " 
is  in  Hebrew  the  one  which  is  used  for  a  deep  valley,  dry  in  sum- 
mer, but  containing  a  stream  in  the  winter  rains.  This  is  a  slender 
basis,  however,  for  the  marginal  translation  "the  flood."  We 
should  rather  render  "He  breaketh  a  wady  "  or  "valley,"  under- 
standing it  to  be  a  figurative  description  of  the  shaft  of  a  mine. 
This  is  justified  by  the  word  "Nile  "  for  "passage  "  below.  See 
note  on  v.  10.  Away  from  where  men  sojourn.  We  should 
follow  the  versions  quoted  and  read : 

"He  breaketh  a  shaft  out  of  the  dust  "  (or  "clods  "). 

These  versions  had  the  poetic  word  for  "earth"  used  in  v.  2, 
which  RV  margin  renders  "dust."  That  passeth  by.  The 
italics  show  that  these  words  are  not  in  the  Hebrew.  They  seem 
to  spoil  the  beauty  of  the  description.     We  should  render : 

"  Forgotten,  without  foothold  they  hang, 
Afar  from  men  they  swing." 

The  words  describe  the  descent  into  a  mine. 

5.  Out  of  it  cometh  bread  .  .  .  underneath  it  is  turned  up. 

The  verse  seems  to  draw  a  contrast  between  the  peaceful  processes 
of  agriculture  on  the  surface,  and  the  fierce  mining  operations 
within  the  earth.  Possibly  there  is  a  parallel  rather  than  a  con- 
trast suggested.  The  earth  is  "turned  up  "  above  by  the  plough 
to  secure  bread,  underneath  as  by  fire  to  secure  gems. 

226 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


6.  The  stones  thereof  are  the  place  of  sapphires, 
^  And  it  hath  dust  of  gold. 

7.  That  path  no  bird  of  prey  knoweth, 
Neither  hath  the  falcon's  eye  seen  it : 

8.  The  "^  proud  beasts  have  not  trodden  it, 
Nor  hath  the  fierce  lion  passed  thereby. 

9.  He  putteth  forth  his  hand  upon  the  flinty  rock; 
He  overturneth  the  mountains  by  the  roots. 

10.  He  cutteth  out  ^  channels  among  the  rocks ; 
And  his  eye  seeth  every  precious  thing. 

11.  He  '^  bindeth  the  streams  ^  that  they  ^  trickle  not ; 


^  m.  Or,  And  he  winneth  lumps  of  gold.  *  m.  Heb.  sons  of  pride.  ^  m.  Or, 

passages.  *  Gr.  Aq.  Theod.  Vulg.  Sah.  Eth.  uncovereth.  *  m.  Heb.  from. 

«  Gr.  Vulg.  Sah.  Eth.  depths. 


6.  And  it  hath  dust  of  gold.  The  marginal  rendering,  "He 
winneth  lumps  of  gold,"  is  better.  The  poet  begins  now  to  de- 
scribe what  is  found  in  the  mine. 

7.  That  path  no  bird  of  prey  knoweth.  Verses  7,  8  should  prob- 
ably come  between  vs.  12  and  13.  The  Greek  and  Sahidic  ver- 
sions omit  vs.  5-9.  The  omission  indicates  that  some  disturbance 
of  the  text  has  taken  place  here  —  probably  the  transposition  of 
vs.  7,  8  from  their  original  position.  If  we  restore  the  original 
order,  we  have  after  the  question  in  v.  12,  "Where  shall  wisdom 
be  found?  "  first  the  statement  that  no  bird  of  prey  knows  (v.  7), 
then  that  no  beast  knows  (v.  8),  then  that  no  man  knows  (v.  13). 

8.  Beasts.     See  note  on  v.  7. 

9.  He  putteth  forth  his  hand.  This  should  follow  directly 
after  v.  6.  The  description  of  the  processes  of  mining  is  here 
continued. 

10.  Channels  among  the  rocks.  The  Hebrew  word  rendered 
"channels"  (margin,  "passages"),  is  the  plural  of  the  word 
designating  the  river  Nile.  It  clearly  means  "passages  "  here  as 
"valley  "  meant  shaft  in  v.  4.  The  description  abounds  in  poetic 
hyperbole. 

11.  He  bindeth  the  streams  that  they  trickle  not.  In  the 
context  the  poet  is  speaking  of  the  way  in  which  the  miner 
uncovers  secrets.  "Binding  streams  from  trickling  down"  fits 
in  badly  with  such  a  description.  We  should  read  the  line  with 
the  versions  cited,  "He  uncovers  the  depths   of   the   streams." 

227 


THE   BOOK   OF   JOB 


And  ^  the  thing  that  is  hid  bringeth  he  forth  to 
Hght. 

12.  But  where  shall  wisdom  be  found  ? 

And  where  is  the  place  of  understanding  ? 

13.  Man  knoweth  not  ^  the  price  thereof ; 
Neither  is  it  found  in  the  land  of  the  living. 

14.  The  deep  saith,  It  is  not  in  me  : 
And  the  sea  saith,  It  is  not  with  me. 

15.  It  cannot  be  gotten  for  ^  gol-d, 

Neither   shall   silver  be   weighed   for   the  price 
thereof. 

16.  It  cannot  be  valued  with  the  gold  of  Ophir, 
With  the  precious  ^  onyx,  or  the  sapphire. 

17.  Gold  and  glass  cannot  equal  it : 

1  Gr.OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  their  power.        2  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  the  way.        '  Gr.  Aq.  Theod. 
that  which  is  guarded,    m.  Or,  treasure.        *  m.  Or,  beryl. 

The  thing  that  is  hid.     This  fits  the  context  better  than  the  rival 
rendering  of  the  versions  given  above. 

i2,Wisdom.  The  intellectual  concept  or  the  understanding 
of  the  idea  which  lies  behind  the  universe.     See  note  on  v.  27. 

13.  Man  knoweth  not.  Verses  7,  8  should  immediately  pre- 
cede this.  "Man"  then  stands  last  in  a  climactic  series.  See 
note  on  v.  7.  The  price  thereof.  We  should  read  with  the  ver- 
sions cited,  "the  way  thereof."  This  continues  the  figure  of 
vs.  7,  8. 

14.  The  deep.  The  primeval  abyss.  See  notes  on  9  :  13  and 
26:  12.  The  sea.  The  ordinary  sea  as  distinguished  from  "the 
deep."  Verses  14-19  were  not  in  the  text  used  by  the  Greek 
translators  and  appear  to  be  a  later  addition  to  the  interpolation. 

15.  Cannot  be  gotten  for  gold.  As  the  versions  and  margin 
show,  the  word  "gold"  is  not  really  in  the  text.  The  word  which 
does  appear,  however,  is  used  in  i  Kgs.  6 :  20  after  gold  in  the 
sense  of  "refined."     We  are  therefore  justified  in  translating: 

"It  cannot  be  gotten  for  refined  gold." 

16.  Ophir.  A  region,  probably  in  Arabia,  the  gold  of  which 
is  often  referred  to  in  the  O.  T.,  see  i  Kgs.  10:  11 ;    22  :  48;    etc. 

17.  Glass.  It  seems  strange  to  have  "glass  "  mentioned  as  a 
precious  thing.     While  it  was  known  in  Babylonia  from  a  Uttle 

228 


THE   BOOK   OF   JOB  28:24 


Neither  shall  the  exchange  thereof  be   ^  jewels  of 
fine  gold. 

18.  No  mention  shall  be  made  of  coral  or  of  crystal : 
Yea,  the  price  of  wisdom  is  above  ^  rubies. 

19.  The  topaz  of  Ethiopia  shall  not  equal  it, 
Neither  shall  it  be  valued  with  pure  gold. 

20.  Whence  then  cometh  wisdom  ? 

And  where  is  the  place  of  understanding? 

21.  ^  Seeing  it  is  hid  from  the  eyes  of  all  living, 
And  kept  close  from  the  fowls  of  the  air. 

22.  ^  Destruction  and  Death  say, 

We  have  heard  a  rumour  thereof  with  our  ears. 

23.  God  ^  understandeth  the  way  thereof, 
And  he  knoweth  the  place  thereof. 

24.  For  he  looketh  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
And  seeth  ^  under  the  whole  heaven ; 


1  m.  Or,  vessels.        2  m.  Or,  red  coral,  or,  pearls.         '  Gr.  Syr.  Vulg.  Sah.  Eth.  Ar. 
omit  Seems.  *  m.  Heb.  Abaddon.  »  5  Heb.  MSS.  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  established. 

6  Vulg.  Ar.  all  that  is  under  heaven. 

after  3000  B.C.,  and  to  the  Egyptians  at  a  comparatively  early 
time,  it  was  apparently  so  rare  in  Palestine  as  to  be  accounted 
among  jewels.  Jewels  of  fine  gold.  We  should  read,  as  in  the 
margin,  "vessels." 

18.  Rubies.     Read  with  the  margin,  "pearls." 

19.  Ethiopia.  Hebrew  "Cush,"  equivalent  to  modern  Nubia. 
Egyptian  kings  worked  rich  mines  there. 

21.  Seeing  should  be  omitted  with  the  versions. 

22.  Destruction,  or  with  the  margin,  "Abaddon,"  is  in  the 
wisdom  books  the  name  of  the  part  of  Sheol  where  the  wicked  are 
destroyed;  compare  Job  26:6;  31:12;  Pr.  15:11;  27:20. 
In  Enoch,  ch.  22,  we  have  a  much  more  developed  Abaddon  than 
here.      Death.     Here  a  synonym  of  Abaddon. 

23.  God  understandeth.  Perhaps  we  should  read  with  the 
authorities  cited  above,  "God  established,"  though  the  present 
reading  suits  v.  24  better. 

24.  Under  the  whole  heaven.  The  reading  of  the  versions 
cited,  "all  that  is  under  heaven,"  is  better. 

229 


28:25  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


25.  ^  To  make  a  weight  for  the  wind ; 

Yea,  he  meteth  out  the  waters  by  measure. 

26.  When  he  made  a  decree  for  the  rain, 

And  a  way  for  the  Hghtning  of  the  thunder : 

27.  Then  did  he  see  it,  and  ^  declare  it ; 

He  estabhshed  it,  yea,  and  searched  it  out. 

28.  And  unto  man  he  said. 

Behold,  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  that  is  wisdom ; 
And  to  depart  from  evil  is  understanding. 

1  Gr.  Syr.  Vulg.  Targ.  Sah.  Eth.  Ar.  He  who  makes,    m.  Or,  When  he  tnaketh.    2  m. 
Or,  recount. 

25.  To  make  a  weight.  The  reading  of  the  versions,  "He 
who  makes  a  weight,"  is  clearly  to  be  preferred  to  either  reading 
of  the  revisers. 

26.  A  way.     This  line  is  borrowed  from  38 :  25. 

27.  Declare  it.  Perhaps  the  meaning  is  that  God  expressed 
the  qualities  of  wisdom  by  giving  her  a  name.  Wisdom  in  the 
poem  up  to  this  point  is  the  intellectual  idea  or  conception  lying 
behind  the  universe,  as  it  is  in  Pr.  8 :  22-31. 

28.  The  fear  of  the  Lord,  that  is  wisdom.  Probably  this  verse 
is  a  later  gloss,  for  it  is  the  only  religious  note  in  the  chapter  and 
seems  to  contradict  all  that  has  gone  before.  Up  to  this  point 
wisdom  has  been  an  intellectual  idea,  here  it  is  the  fear  of  the  Lord. 
Wisdom  has  been  declared  to  be  inaccessible  to  all  but  God,  here 
it  is  assumed  to  be  possible  for  man.  The  one  way  in  which  the 
verse  may  be  regarded  as  genuine  is  to  suppose  that  the  poet 
meant  to  say  that,  though  real  wisdom  in  this  intellectual  sense  is 
inaccessible  to  man,  God  gives  him  religion  as  a  substitute  for 
it.  That  is  an  intelligible  idea,  and  as  we  shall  see  (cf.  note  on 
42  :  6)  is  found  in  the  poem  of  Job  itself.  Had  it  been  the  inten- 
tion of  this  wisdom  poet  to  express  that  thought  here,  one  cannot 
help  thinking  that  he  would  have  done  it  more  clearly.  It  seems 
more  probable,  therefore,  that  some  pious  soul  added  this  verse 
as  a  gloss. 

(2)  Job  longs  for  the  joys,  religious  and  secular,  and  for  the  occupa- 
tions of  his  prosperous  life,  ch.  29 
I.  And  Job  again  took  up  his  parable,  and  said.  These  words 
were  undoubtedly  inserted  by  the  editor  who  rearranged  chapters 
24-29.  They  occur  in  the  body  of  Job's  last  speech  and  cannot 
be  the  work  of  the  poet. 

230 


THE   BOOK   OF   JOB  29 


18.   Job^s    Third   Reply   to   Zophar    {continued  from   27 : 

1-6,  12) 
29.  And  Job  again  took  up  his  parable,  and  said, 

2.  Oh  that  I  were  as  in  the  months  of  old. 

As  in  the  days  when  God  watched  over  me ; 

3.  When  his  lamp  shined  ^  upon  my  head. 
And  by  his  light  I  walked  through  darkness ; 

4.  As  I  was  in  ^  the  ripeness  of  my  days. 
When  the  ^  secret  of  God  was  upon  my  tent ; 

5.  When  the  Almighty  was  yet  with  me, 
And  my  children  were  about  me ; 

1  m.  Or,  above.  ^  m.  Heb.  my  days  of  autumn.  '  Sym.  Syr.  When  God 

hedged  about  my  tent.     m.  Or,  counsel,  or,  Jriendship. 

2.  Oh  that  I  were  as  in  the  months  of  old.  Here  begins  the 
second  part  of  Job's  last  long  speech,  of  which  27  :  1-6  and  12 
form  the  first  part.  As  the  debate  had  proceeded  Job's  mind  had 
turned  somewhat  away  from  his  friends  and  had  centred  upon 
the  relation  of  his  life  to  God.  He  accordingly  dismisses  Zo- 
phar's  last  harangue  with  a  few  words,  devoting  most  of  his  mon- 
ologue to  a  final  review  of  his  case  and  his  appeal  to  God.  In  the 
present  chapter  he  goes  over  with  wistful  thoughts  the  days  of  his 
prosperity.  The  opening  words  of  this  verse  express  his  longing 
for  them.  When  God  watched  over  me.  In  contrast  with  the 
way  in  which  Job  thought,  as  he  had  several  times  said,  God  was 
now  treating  him  as  an  enemy;  see,  for  example,  7:  12  ff.  and 
16:  12  £f. 

3.  His  lamp.  A  metaphor  for  the  divine  light  or  favor  shining 
from  above;    cf.  Isa.  42  :  16. 

4.  Ripeness  of  my  days.  As  the  margin  tells  us,  the  Hebrew 
really  means  "autumn  of  my  days."  Some  scholars,  thinking 
that  such  an  expression  could  refer  only  to  old  age,  have  suspected 
a  corrupt  text.  The  autumn  was,  however,  the  time  of  the  grape 
harvest  and  of  rejoicing,  and  it  is  probably  here  a  figure  for 
"gladness  of  my  days."  The  secret  of  God  was  upon  my  tent. 
With  the  versions  cited  we  should  read,"  When  God  hedged  about 
my  tent  "  ;   compare  i  :  10. 

5.  My  children  were  about  me.  A  pathetic  touch.  Next 
to  the  consciousness  of  God's  favor  he  prized  the  companionship 
of  his  children. 

231 


29:6  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


6.  When  my  steps  were  washed  with  butter, 
And  the  ^  rock  poured  ^  me  out  rivers  of  oil ! 

7.  When  I  went  forth  to  the  gate  unto  the  city, 
When  I  prepared  my  seat  in  the  ^  street, 

8.  The  young  men  saw  me  and  hid  themselves, 
And  the  aged  rose  up  and  stood ; 

9.  The  princes  refrained  talking, 

And  laid  their  hand  on  their  mouth ; 

10.  The  voice  of  ^  the  nobles  was  ^  hushed. 

And  their  tongue  cleaved  to  the  roof  of  their 
mouth. 

11.  For  when  the  ear  heard  7ne,  then  it  blessed  me ; 
And  when  the  eye  saw  me,  it  gave  witness  unto  me : 

1  Gr.  Syr.  Sah.  Eth.  Ar.  omit  rock.         2  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  my  hills.        ^  m.  Or, 
broad  place.     ^  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  the  listeners.     *  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  blessed  me.     m.  Heb.  hid. 

6.  Butter.  Literally  "curd";  in  the  Old  Testament  a  figure 
of  abundance;  see  Deut.  32:  14;  2  Sam.  17:  29.  And  the  rock 
poured  me  out.  The  Hebrew  is  peculiar.  Perhaps  we  should 
read  on  the  authority  of  the  versions  cited : 

"And  my  hills  poured  out  rivers  of  oil." 

7.  When  I  went  forth.  Job  turns  now  from  the  blessings  once 
enjoyed  in  his  home  to  speak  of  the  honor  paid  him  in  the  old  days 
when  he  appeared  in  public.  Gate  .  .  .  street.  In  Oriental 
cities  the  city  elders  congregate  in  the  gate  and  men  sit  about  the 
streets  for  conversation.  Such  places  correspond  to  the  parlia- 
ment halls  and  clubs  of  Western  peoples.  Cf .  Ruth  4 :  i  and 
Pr.  31  :  23. 

8.  Hid  themselves  .  .  .  stood.  Evidences  of  the  very  great 
honor  in  which  they  held  Job. 

9.  Refrained  talking.  One  of  the  universal  tributes  of  respect 
which  lesser  men  pay  to  the  very  great. 

10.  Was  hushed.  This  certainly  gives  the  meaning.  The 
versions  are  out  of  harmony  with  the  context.  Verses  21-25, 
which  continue  the  description  of  Job's  reception  in  public,  should 
be  placed  here  before  v.  11. 

11.  The  ear  heard  ...  it  blessed.  The  verse  begins  Job's 
description  of  the  way  common  people  regarded  him  on  account 
of  his  benefactions  to  them. 

232 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


12.  Because  I  delivered  the  poor  ^  that  cried, 

The  fatherless  also,  ^  that  had  none  to  help  him. 

13.  The  blessing  of  him  that  was  ready  to  perish  came 

upon  me : 
And  I  caused  the  widow's  heart  to  sing  for  joy. 

14.  I  put  on  righteousness,  and  it  ^  clothed  me : 
^  My  justice  was  as  a  robe  and  a  ^  diadem. 

15.  I  was  eyes  to  the  bhnd, 
And  feet  was  I  to  the  lame. 

16.  I  was  a  father  to  the  needy : 

And  ^  the  cause  of  him  that  I  knew  not  I  searched 
out. 

17.  And  I  brake  the  ^  jaws  of  the  unrighteous, 
And  plucked  the  prey  out  of  his  teeth. 

18.  Then  I  said,  I  shall  ^  die  ^  in  my  nest. 

And  I  shall  multiply  my  days  as  ^^  the  sand : 

1  Gr.  SjT.  Sah.  Eth.  Ax.  from  the  oppressor.  2  m.  Or,  and  him  that  had  6*c. 

3  m.  Or,  clothed  itself  with  me.  ■*  Gr.  OLat.  Syr.  Sah.  Eth.  omit  My.  5  m. 

Or,  turban.  ^  m.  Or,  the  cause  which  I  knew  not.  ^  m.  Heb.  great  teeth. 

8  Gr.  Sym.  Sah.  Eth.  grow  old.  ^  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  my  youth.     Vulg.  in  my  nest.     m. 

Or,  beside.    Heb.  with.  i"  Gr.  OLat.  Vulg.  Sah.  Eth.  the  palm  tree.     m.  Or,  phcenix. 

12.  That  cried.  Read  with  the  versions  cited  "from  the 
oppressor."  That  had  none  to  help  him.  The  text,  which  is 
supported  by  the  ancient  versions,  is  to  be  preferred  to  the  margin. 

13.  Widow's  heart  to  sing.  Incidentally  in  his  review  Job 
answers  the  charge  of  Eliphaz  in  22:9. 

14.  My  justice.  With  the  versions  cited  omit  "My."  Dia- 
dem.    Read  with  the  margin,  "turban." 

16.  The  cause  of  him  that  I  knew  not.  This  rendering  is  to 
be  preferred  to  that  of  the  margin. 

17.  Jaws.  The  margin,  "great  teeth,"  is  better.  TheHerbrew 
word  probably  denoted  the  incisors  or  fangs  of  a  carnivorous  animal. 

18.  I  shall  die  in  my  nest.  It  is  difficult  to  decide  whether 
this  or  the  reading  of  the  versions,  "My  youth  shall  grow  old," 
is  the  original  text.  The  present  reading  gives  the  more  forcible 
thought.  As  the  sand.  Several  of  the  versions  read,  "as  the 
palm-tree."  Since  the  palm  lives  to  a  great  age,  this  may  well 
have  been  the  original  reading.     The  margin  of  RV,  "phoenix," 

233 


29  :  19  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


19.  My  root  is  ^  spread  out  ^  to  the  waters, 

And  the  dew  Heth  all  night  upon  my  branch: 

20.  My  glory  is  fresh  in  me, 

And  my  bow  is  renewed  in  my  hand. 

21.  Unto  me  men  gave  ear,  and  waited, 
And  kept  silence  for  my  counsel. 

22.  After  my  words  they  spake  not  again ; 
And  my  speech  dropped  upon  them. 

23.  And  they  waited  for  me  as  for  the  rain ; 

And  they  opened  their  mouth  wide  as  for  the  latter  rain. 

24.  ^  If  I  laughed  on  them,  they  ^  believed  it  not ; 

1  m.  Heb.  opened.  2  m.  Qr,  by.  ^  m.  Or,  /  smiled  on  them  when  they  had  no 

confidence.  *  m.  Or,  were  not  confident. 

is  based  on  a  Rabbinical  explanation  of  the  Hebrew  word  used, 
but  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  Hebrew  word  denoted  the  phoenix 
as  early  as  the  Biblical  period.  The  phoenix  was  a  fabled  bird, 
which  was  said  to  live  500  years,  when  it  burned  itself  in  its  nest 
and  rose  again  from  its  ashes.  The  comparison  would  fit  well 
here,  if  we  were  sure  that  the  Hebrew  word  had  this  meaning. 
The  comparison  with  the  palm,  however,  is  more  suitable  to  v.  19 
and  is  to  be  preferred. 

19.  My  root  is  spread  out  to  the  waters.  In  a  dry  country  like 
Palestine  this  was  invaluable  to  the  life  of  a  tree,  cf.  Ps.  1:3 
and  Jer.  17:8.  The  dew.  In  the  long  rainless  summer  the 
heavy  night  dews  help  to  keep  vegetation  fresh. 

20.  Bow.  A  symbol  of  strength,  cf.  Gen.  49  :  24  and  2  Sam.  1:22. 

21.  Kept  silence  for  my  counsel.  As  noted  above,  vs.  21-25 
belong  between  vs.  10,  11.  This  verse  continues  the  description 
of  the  deference  once  paid  to  Job  in  public  begun  in  vs.  7-10. 

22.  Spake  not  again.  Because  Job's  evident  wisdom  had  con- 
vinced them,  or  because  they  were  unwilling  to  oppose  the  opinion 
of  the  great  man. 

23.  As  for  the  rain.  A  powerful  figure  in  a  country  where  no 
rain  falls  from  April  to  November. 

24.  If  I  laughed  on  them,  they  believed  it  not.  As  this  stands 
it  means  that  they  could  not  beheve  that  the  great  man.  Job, 
would  smile  upon  them  —  a  thought  not  in  harmony  with  Job's 
claim  already  expressed,  that  he  was  a  great  benefactor.  The 
marginal  reading  is  no  better,  for  it  leaves  the  thought  hanging 

234 


THE   BOOK   OF  JOB  30:2 


And  the  light  of  my  countenance  they  cast  not  down. 
25.   I  chose  out  their  way,  and  sat  as  chief, 
And  dwelt  as  a  king  in  the  army, 
As  one  that  comforteth  the  mourners. 
30.   But  now  they  that  are  younger  than  I  have  me  in 
derision, 
Whose  fathers  I  disdained  to  set  with  the  dogs  of  my 
flock. 
2.   Yea,  the  strength  of   their   hands,  ^  whereto  should 
it  profit  me  ? 
Men  in  whom  ^  ripe  age  is  perished. 

1  OLat.  Vulg.  At.  was  as  nothing  to  me.  2  m.  Or,  vigor. 

in  the  air.     As  several  commentators  have  noted,  we  should  omit 
"not."     This  gives  the  excellent  meaning: 

"I  laughed  upon  them  and  they  were  confident." 
The  light  of  my  countenance  they  cast  not  down.    This  is  a  most 
improbable  statement  and  forms  a  decided  anticlimax.    The  ver- 
sions afford  no  help.  Several  scholars  agree  that,  if  we  substitute  for 
"cast  not  down"  the  words  from  v.  25,  "comforted  mourners," — 
words  which  seem  to  be  out  of  place  where  they  now  stand, — 
both  verses  would  be  much  improved.     The  line  would  then  read  : 
"The  light  of  my  countenance  comforted  mourners." 
25.  As  one  that  comforteth  the  mourners.    As  already  remarked 
(on  V.  24),  the  idea  of  "comforting  mourners"  probably  belongs 
to  V.  24.     It  spoils  here  the  strong  ending  of  Job's  description  of  the 
position  he  once  held  among  his  fellow-men.     That  conclusion  was  : 
"I  chose  out  their  way  and  sat  as  chief, 
I  dwelt  as  king  in  the  army." 

(3)  Job  contrasts  with  this  his  present  afflictions,  ch.  30 

1.  But  now  introduces  the  contrast  of  Job's  present  position 
with  the  happy  and  honored  past  described  in  ch.  29. 

2.  Whereto  should  it  profit  me  ?  This  begins  a  series  of  verses 
which  scholars  have  found  difficult  to  reconcile  with  their  con- 
text;  see  note  on  v.  3.  This  verse  fits  well,  however,  if  with  the 
versions  cited  above  we  read : 

"Yea,  the  strength  of  their  hands  was  as  nothing  to  me." 
Is  perished.     We  should  render  "has  perished." 

235 


30:3  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


3.  They  are  gaunt  with  want  and  famine ; 

^  They  gnaw   the   dry  ground,  ^  in    the   gloom  of 
wasteness  and  desolation. 

4.  They  pluck  salt- wort  by  the  bushes ; 

And  the  roots  of  the  broom  are  ^  their  meat. 

5.  They  are  driven  forth  from  the  midst  of  men; 

1  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  they  flee.    m.  Or,  They  flee  into  the  wilderness,  into  6*c.  2  m.  Qr, 

which  yesternight  was,  or,  on  the  eve  of.  ^  Or,  to  warm  them. 

3.  They  are  gaunt.  Translate  rather  "They  are  stiff"  or 
"lifeless."  They  gnaw  the  dry  ground.  Read  rather  with  the 
versions  and  the  margin,  "They  flee  into  the  wilderness."  The 
gloom  of  wasteness  and  desolation.  The  word  rendered  "gloom," 
as  the  margin  recognizes,  does  not  have  that  meaning.  Neither 
of  the  marginal  readings  gives  a  clear  sense.  It  is  better  to  accept 
a  slight  change  of  the  Hebrew  text  suggested  by  several  scholars 
and  read  "mother  of  waste  and  desolation."  The  whole  verse 
would  then  read : 

"They  are  lifeless  from  want  and  famine, 
They  flee  to  the  wilderness. 
The  mother  of  waste  and  desolation." 

Several  scholars  have  noticed  that  this  verse  together  with 
vs.  4-8  are  unsuited  to  their  context,  as  they  also  think  v.  2  is. 
Men  who  had  been  so  driven  to  the  wilderness  and  had  become 
outcasts  could  not  thus  laugh  at  Job,  or  if  they  did  their  laughter 
could  do  him  no  harm.  Moreover,  the  tone  of  contempt  running 
through  the  verses  seems  out  of  place  in  his  present  speech. 
If  V.  9  is  joined  to  v.  2  as  v.  2  has  been  interpreted  above,  it  gives 
a  much  simpler  and  stronger  meaning.  Some  scholars  have  noted 
how  well  these  verses  continue  the  thought  of  24 :  5-8  and 
have  accordingly  placed  them  in  ch.  24.  As  we  have  seen  reason 
to  believe  that  those  verses  belong  in  the  speech  of  Bildad  in  ch. 
25,  we  should  place  these  verses  there  also.     See  note  on  25  :  6. 

4.  Salt-wort.  A  plant  which  grows  in  several  varieties  in 
salt  marshes.  The  roots  of  broom  are  their  meat.  Broom  is  a 
desert  shrub  which  makes  hot  coals;  see  Ps.  120:4,  where  it  is 
rendered  "juniper."  As  its  roots  are  bitter,  many  scholars  prefer 
the  reading  of  the  margin,  but  the  translation  of  the  text  is  more 
appropriate  here. 

5.  They  are  driven  forth  .  .  .  thief.  If  we  place  this  in  con- 
nection with  24 :  6,  we  see  that  they  really  were  thieves  and 
would  naturally  be  driven  forth. 

236 


THE   BOOK   OF   JOB  30 


They  cry  after  them  as  after  a  thief. 

6.  1  In  the  clefts  of  the  valleys  must  they  dwell, 
In  holes  of  the  earth  and  of  the  rocks. 

7.  Among  the  bushes  they  bray ; 

Under  the  ^  nettles  they  ^  are  gathered  together. 

8.  They  are  children  of  fools,  yea,  children  of  ^  base  men ; 
They  ^  were  scourged  out  of  the  land. 

9.  And  now  I  am  become  their  song, 
Yea,  I  am  a  byword  unto  them. 

10.  They  abhor  me,  they  stand  aloof  from  me, 
And  spare  not  to  spit  ^  in  my  face. 

11.  For  he  hath  loosed  '^  his  cord,  and  afflicted  me, 
And  ^  they  have  cast  off  the  bridle  before  me. 


1  m.  Or,  In  the  most  gloomy  valleys.  2  m.  Or,  wild  vetches.  3  Gr.  live.     Vulg. 

Targ.  are  numbered.     Eth.  hide  themselves,     m.  Or,  stretch  themselves.  *  m.  Heb. 

men  of  no  name.  b  m.  Or,  are  outcasts  from  the  land.  e  m.  Or,  at  the  sight  of  me. 

">  m.  According  to  another  ancient  reading  [Syr.  Targ.  Ar.  and  Heb.  tradition]  my  cord 
(or  my  bowstring).         «  Theod.  Vulg.  Eth.  he. 

6.  In  the  clefts  of  the  valleys.  For  "clefts"  read  "most 
dreadful,''  ov  as  in  the  margin,  "most  gloomy."  Such  valleys 
are  the  hiding-places  of  outcasts. 

7.  They  are  gathered  together.  The  versions  and  the  margin 
afford  a  variety  of  renderings.  Perhaps  we  should  read  "are 
joined"  or  "they  couple."  Possibly  the  meaning  is  that  they 
misbeget  as  they  were  misbegotten.  Verse  8  suggests  this. 
"Bray  "  would  then  be  used  as  in  Jer.  5  :  8. 

8.  Base  men.  With  the  margin  we  should  read  "nameless 
men."     They  are  a  horde  of  base-born  or  illegally  born  fellows. 

9.  And  now  I  am  become  their  song.  This  connects  with  v.  2 
and  continues  Job's  description  of  how  these  who  once  honored 
him  now  scorn  him.     We  should,  however,  read,  "But  now." 

10.  In  my  face.     Read  with  the  margin,  "at  the  sight  of  me." 

11.  He  hath  loosed.  The  reference  is  to  God.  Job  attrib- 
utes the  great  change  in  his  circumstances  to  God's  treatment 
of  him.  His  cord.  Read  with  the  margin  "my  cord."  The 
loosening  of  a  tent  cord  made  the  tent  collapse;  the  loosening 
of  a  bowstring  rendered  its  possessor  defenceless.  To  which 
figure  Job  refers  is  not  clear.  Either  would  be  effective  in  the 
context.  They  have  cast  off.  Read  with  the  versions  "he 
hath,"  etc.     Without  a  bridle  the  steed  is  ungovernable. 

237 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


12.  Upon  my  right  hand  rise  the  ^  rabble ; 
They  thrust  aside  my  feet, 

And   they  cast   up   against  me   their  ways  of  de- 
struction. 

13.  They  ^  mar  my  path, 

They  set  forward  my  calamity, 
^  Even  men  that  have  no  helper. 

14.  ^  As  through  a  wide  breach  they  come : 

In  the  midst  of  the  ruin  they  roll  themselves  upon  me. 

15.  Terrors  are  turned  upon  me, 

^  They  chase  ^  mine  honour  as  the  wind ; 
And  my  welfare  is  passed  away  as  a  cloud. 

16.  And  now  my  soul  is  poured  out  ^within  me; 
Days  of  affliction  have  taken  hold  upon  me. 

17.  In  the  night  season  my  bones  are  ^  pierced  ^  in  me, 

1  m.  Or,  brood.  2  m.  Or,  break  up.  ^  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  At  me  they  hurl 

their  darts.  ^m..  As  a  wide  breaking-in  of  waters.  ^  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  My  hope 

is  pursued.     Syr.  Ar.  They  pursue  my  paths,     m.  Or,  Thou  chasest.  ^  m.  Or,  my 

nobility.  ">  m.  Heb.  upon.  »  m.  Or,  corroded  and  drop  away  from  me. 

9  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  omit  in  me.     m.  Heb./ro/?i  of. 

12.  Upon  my  right  hand.  The  right  hand  was  usually  the  lucky 
side.  It  is  a  measure  of  Job's  misfortune  that  it  is  now  just  here 
that  the  rabble  rise  against  him.  Thrust  aside  my  feet.  The 
words  afford  no  good  meaning  in  the  context,  and  as  several 
commentators  have  noted,  probably  arose  from  an  accidental 
insertion  here  of  a  part  of  v.  11.  We  should  omit  them.  Cast 
up  against  me  their  ways  of  destruction.  As  men  do  in  a  siege. 
It  is  a  military  figure. 

13.  Even  men  that  have  no  helper.  It  is  much  better  to  read 
with  the  versions  cited,  "At  me  they  hurl  their  darts."  Such 
a  sentence  continues  the  figure  of  the  siege. 

14.  As  through  a  .  .  .  breach  they  come.  This  is  far  prefer- 
able to  the  suggestion  of  the  margin.  It  still  continues  the  figure 
of  a  siege. 

15.  They  chase  mine  honour.  Probably  with  the  Greek  and 
kindred  versions  we  should  read,  "  My  hope  is  chased  away  like 
the  wind."     This  gives  an  excellent  parallelism  with  the  next  line. 

17.  Pierced.  This  rendering  is  better  than  the  one  in  the 
margin.     It    graphically    describes    the    pain    from    which    Job 

238 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


And  ^  the  pains  that  gnaw  me  take  no  rest. 

1 8.  2  gy  the  great  force  of  my  disease  is  my  garment 

disfigured : 
It  bindeth  me  about  as  the  collar  of  my  coat. 

19.  He  hath  cast  me  into  the  mire, 

And  I  am  become  like  dust  and  ashes. 

20.  I  cry  unto  thee,  and  thou  dost  not  answer  me : 
2 1  stand  up,  and  thou  ^  lookest  at  me. 

2 1 .  Thou  art  turned  to  be  cruel  to  me : 

With  the  might  of  thy  hand  ^  thou  persecutest  me. 

22.  Thou  Hftest  me  up  to  the  wind,  thou  causest  me 

to  ride  upon  it; 
And  thou  dissolvest  me  in  the  storm. 


*  m.  Or,  my  sinews  take  b'c.  2  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  With  great  strength  my  garment 

clings,     m.  Or,  By  his  great  force  is  6*c.  3  Syr.  Ar.  Thou  standest.  *  Vulg.  dost 

not  look  at  me.  *  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  thou  scourgest  me. 


suffered.  In  me.  The  Hebrew  is  literally  "from  upon  me" 
—  a  very  difficult  phrase.  It  should  be  omitted  with  the  versions 
cited.  The  pains  that  gnaw  me.  Literally  "  the  gnawers  of  me." 
18.  By  the  great  force  of  my  disease  is  my  garment  disfigured. 
The  Hebrew  contains  no  word  for  ''disease."  We  should  read 
with  the  versions  cited  "With  great  force  my  garment  clings." 
The  pus  from  his  sores  was  the  cause  of  the  clinging,  which  would 
itself  be  torture.  As  the  collar.  The  long  flowing  Oriental  robe 
clung  to  the  sores  as  closely  as  the  collar  to  the  neck. 

20.  I  stand  up.  Read  with  the  versions  cited,  "Thou  stand- 
est." And  thou  lookest  at  me.  Read  with  the  Vulgate,  "dost 
not  look  at  me."  Job  complains  that  God  takes  notice  neither 
of  his  agony  nor  his  supplication. 

21.  Thou  persecutest  me.  The  Hebrew  word  does  not  mean 
"persecute,"  but  "bear  a  grudge  against  "  —  a  sense  not  appro- 
priate. We  should  read  with  the  versions  cited  by  making  a 
slight  change,  "thou  scourgest  me." 

22.  Thou  liftest  me  up  to  the  wind.  Under  a  different  figure 
the  poet  in  this  verse  beautifully  carries  on  the  thought. 

23.  Thou  wilt  bring  me  to  death.  Job  has  before  asserted 
that  it  was  God's  purpose  to  slay  him  (see  note  on  13  :  15)  and 
that  thought  still  persists  in  his  mind. 

239 


THE   BOOK   OF   JOB 


23.  For  I  know  that  thou  wilt  bring  me  to  death, 
And  to  ^  the  house  appointed  for  all  living. 

24.  2  Surely  against  a  ruinous  heap    he  will  not  put 

forth  his  hand ; 
Though  ii  be  in  his  destruction,  one  may  utter  a 
cry  because  of  these  things. 

25.  Did  not  I  weep  for  him  that  was  in  trouble  ? 
Was  not  my  soul  grieved  for  the  needy  ? 

26.  When  I  looked  for  good,  then  evil  came ; 

And  when  I  waited  for  light,  there  came  darkness. 

27.  My  bowels  boil,  and  rest  not ; 
Days  of  afSiction  are  come  upon  me. 

28.  I  go  ^  mourning  without  the  sun  : 

I  stand  up  in  the  assembly,  and  cry  for  help. 

1  m.  Or,  the  house  of  meeting  for  6*c.  2  m.  Or,  Howbeit  doth  not  one  stretch 

out  the  hand  in  his  fall?    or  in  his  calamity  therefore  cry  for  help?  3  m.  Qr, 

blackened,  but  not  by  the  sun. 

24.  Surely  against  a  ruinous  heap.  The  marginal  rendering 
of  the  whole  verse  is  much  preferable  to  the  text.     If  we  read : 

"Howbeit  doth  not  one  stretch  out  his  hand  in  his  fall? 
Or  in  his  calamity  therefore  cry  for  help?  " 

we  obtain  this  intelligible  thought :  Job  knows  that  his  ruin  is 
certain,  but  it  is  natural  nevertheless  to  put  out  his  hand  to  break 
his  fall  and  to  cry  for  aid. 

25.  Did  not  I  weep  ?  Job  had  sympathized  with  others'  sorrows. 

26.  When  I  looked  for  good,  then  evil  came.  He  marvels  that 
there  is  no  corresponding  pity  for  him. 

27.  My  bowels  boil.  "Bowels"  in  Biblical  phrase  is  equal 
to  "feelings."     Job  was  a  tumult  of  conflicting  emotions. 

28.  Mourning  without  the  sun.  This  phrase  is  improbable, 
as  Job  was  not  deprived  of  the  sun.  The  margin,  "blackened 
but  not  by  the  sun,"  fits  well  Job's  physical  condition,  made 
black  as  he  was  by  the  scabs  of  the  disease  (see  v.  30),  but  unfor- 
tunately the  Hebrew  word  means  "mourning."  Probably  with 
some  recent  commentators  we  should  add  one  letter  to  the  Hebrew 
and  read,  "I  go  mourning  without  comfort."  In  the  assembly, 
and  cry  for  help.  This  is  strange.  In  what  assembly  could  Job 
stand?     Again  following  the  same  commentators,  by  the  change 

240 


THE   BOOK  OF  JOB  31 


29.  I  am  a  brother  to  jackals, 
And  a  companion  to  ostriches. 

30.  My  skin  ^  is  black,  and  falleth  from  me, 
And  my  bones  are  burned  with  heat. 

31.  Therefore  is  my  harp  turned  to  mourning. 
And  my  pipe  into  the  voice  of  them  that  weep. 

31.  I  made  a  covenant  mth  mine  eyes ; 

-  How  then  should  I  look  upon  a  maid  ? 
2.  ^  For  what  is  the  portion  of  God  from  above. 

And  the  heritage  of  the  Almighty  from  on  high  ? 

1  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  is  black  exceedingly.  *  Syr.  Vulg.  Ar.  not  to  look.  ^m.  Or, 

For  what  portion  should  I  have  of  God  .  .  .  and  what  heritage  6*c.?    Is  there  not 
calamity  b'c? 

of  a  single  letter  we    obtain,  "I  stand    up  in  the  assembly  of 
jackals."     This  is  in  accord  with  the  following  verse. 

29.  Jackals.  Better,  "wolves."  Ostriches.  Jackals,  wolves, and 
ostriches  all  are  noted  for  their  distressing  cries ;  see  Micah  i  :  8. 

30.  Falleth  from  me.  "Falleth  from"  is  not  in  the  Hebrew. 
It  is  better  with  the  versions  cited  to  read,  "is  black  exceedingly." 
The  verse  depicts  the  effects  of  Job's  disease. 

31.  My  harp  turned  to  mourning.  The  force  of  the  verse  is 
greater,  if  we  take  it  as  a  reiteration  of  v.  24.  See  note  on  that 
verse. 

(4)  Job  protests  his  innocence  and  appeals  to  the  Ahnighty,  ch.  31 

1.  How  then  should  I  look  upon  a  maid?  Read  with  the  ver- 
sions cited,  "Not  to  look."  As  the  words  stand  the  chapter 
begins  most  abruptly  with  a  resolve  not  to  commit  a  very  preva- 
lent sin  —  especially  prevalent  with  the  owner  of  large  numbers 
of  slaves.  The  reason  assigned  is  a  general  statement  of  God's 
moral  government  of  the  world  (v.  3).  We  should  expect  at  the 
beginning  an  equally  general  statement  of  the  sin  from  which 
Job  resolved  to  keep  himself  free,  especially  as  in  the  enumera- 
tion of  particular  sins  of  which  he  is  innocent,  which  follows,  Job 
has  included  sins  with  women  (v.  9).  We  should  adopt  a  slight 
change  of  the  Hebrew  suggested  by  Peake  and  read : 

"I  made  a  covenant  with  mine  eyes, 
Not  to  look  upon  folly." 

2.  For  what  .  .  .  portion.  Job  as  a  young  man  asked  himself 
these  questions  before  calamity  came. 

R  241 


THE   BOOK   OF   JOB 


3.  Is  it  not  calamity  to  the  unrighteous, 
And  disaster  to  the  workers  of  iniquity  ? 

4.  Doth  not  he  see  my  ways, 
And  number  all  my  steps  ? 

5.  If  I  have  walked  with  vanity, 
And  my  foot  hath  hasted  to  deceit ; 

6.  (Let  me  be  weighed  in  an  even  balance, 
That  God  may  know  mine  integrity ;) 

7.  If  my  step  hath  turned  out  of  the  way. 
And  mine  heart  walked  after  mine  eyes, 
And  if  any  spot  hath  cleaved  to  mine  hands : 

8.  Then  let  me  sow,  and  let  another  eat ; 

Yea,  let  ^  the  produce  of  my  field  be  rooted  out. 

1  m.  Or,  my  of  spring.     Heb.  my  produce. 

3.  Calamity  to  the  unrighteous.  As  a  young  man  he  recognized 
this  general  principle  on  which  the  friends  have  all  along  insisted. 

4.  Doth  not  he  see  my  ways?  Job  recognized  that  the  gen- 
eral principle  applied,  through  the  omniscience  of  God,  to  his 
particular  case.  This  was  in  his  youth  the  ground  of  his  resolve 
expressed  in  v.  i ;  it  is  now  the  ground  of  his  protestation  of  inno- 
cence, and  his  appeal  to  God  (vs.  6  and  35). 

5.  With  vanity.  Rather  "falsehood"  —  a  general  term  like 
"folly  "  in  V.  i. 

6.  Weighed  in  an  even  balance.  An  even  balance  is  a  just  one. 
Job  would  not  be  found  wanting,  cf.  Dan.  5  :  27.  That  Godmay 
know  mine  integrity.  The  poet  portrays  in  this  poem  how  a  larger 
conception  of  God  wavers  and  flickers  in  the  mind  as  it  is  being 
born.  Job  started  out  as  a  young  man  with  a  belief  in  God's  good- 
ness and  omniscience  (vs.  2,  3).  His  calamities  and  pain  had  made 
him  doubt  God's  goodness  at  times  (13:  14,  15;  16:  9),  but  in  the 
midst  of  these  doubts  moments  of  faith  in  the  real  permanence  of 
God's  moral  character  emerged  (13:16  ;  16  :  19).  That  faith  emerges 
again  here  at  the  expense  of  God's  omniscience.  Job  speaks 
as  though  God  were  ignorant  of  his  real  character  and  as  though 
God  would  be  just,  could  Job  only  prove  his  innocence  to  him. 

7.  Mine  heart  .  .  .  mine  hands  represent  respectively  inner 
and  outward  sins. 

8.  Produce.  This  is  the  meaning  of  the  Hebrew  and  is  de- 
manded by  the  context.     The  margin  may  be  disregarded. 

242 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB  31 


9.  If  mine  heart  have  been  enticed  unto  a  woman, 

And  I  have  laid  wait  at  my  neighbour's  door ; 

10.  Then  let  my  wife  grind  unto  another, 
And  let  others  bow  down  upon  her. 

11.  For  that  were  an  heinous  crime ; 

Yea,  it  were  an  iniquity  to  be  punished  by  the 
judges : 

12.  For  it  is  a  fire  that  consumeth  unto  ^  Destruction, 
And  would  root  out  all  mine  increase. 

13.  If  I  did  despise  the  cause  of  my  manservant  or  of 

my  maidservant, 
When  they  contended  mth  me : 

14.  What  then  shall  I  do  w^hen  God  ^  riseth  up  ? 
And  when  he  visiteth,  what  shall  I  answer  him  ? 

15.  Did  not  he  that  made  me  in  the  womb  make 

him? 
And  ^  did  not  one  fashion  us  in  the  womb  ? 


1  m.  Heb.  Abaddon.  See  26:  6.         2  Gr.  Vulg.  Sah.  Eth.  taketh  vengeance.         ^  Gr- 
OLat.  Syr.  Sah.  Targ.  Eth.  Ar.  were  we  not  fashioned  in  one  womb? 

10.  Grind  unto  another.  Hebrew,  "grind  for  another." 
The  slave-girls  who  did  the  grinding  were  regarded  as  the  most 
menial,  see  Ex.  11:5.  Foreigners  when  captured  were  often 
put  to  this  work,  see  Jud.  16  :  21 ;    Isa.  47  :  2. 

11.  An  heinous  crime.  Adultery  was  in  Israel  a  capital 
offence,  see  Lev.  20  :  10 ;    Deut.  22  :  22  ;    John  8  :  5. 

12.  Unto  destruction.  Read  with  the  margin,  "Abaddon." 
It  was  the  part  of  Sheol  where  the  wicked  were  confined ;  see 
note  on  28:  22.  For  the  r  in  entailed  by  adultery,  see  Pr. 
5:  8-14;    6:  24-35;  7:  26,  27. 

13.  Despise  the  cause  of  my  manservant.  A  common  fault 
with  masters,  whether  owners  or  employers.  Job  had  treated  his 
slaves,  not  as  possessions,  but  as  men. 

14.  Riseth  up.  Read  with  the  versions  cited,  "taketh  ven- 
geance." Job  believed  with  the  great  prophets  that  God  cared 
for  the  poor  and  oppressed. 

15.  One  fashion  us  in  the  womb.  The  Hebrew  is  peculiar  in 
that  it  designates  God  by  the  numeral  "one."     We  should  read 

243 


1 6  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


1 6.  If  I  have  withheld  ^  the  poor  from  their  desire, 
Or  have  caused  the  eyes  of  the  widow  to  fail ; 

17.  Or  have  eaten  my  morsel  alone, 

And  the  fatherless  hath  not  eaten  thereof ; 

18.  (Nay,  from  my   youth  ^  he   grew   up  with  me  as 

with  a  father, 
And  I  have  been  her  guide  from  my  mother's  womb  ;) 

19.  If  I  have  seen  any  perish  for  want  of  clothing. 
Or  that  the  needy  had  no  covering ; 

20.  If  his  loins  have  not  blessed  me, 

And  if  he^  were  not  warmed  with  the  fleece  of  my 
sheep ; 

21.  If  I  have  Kfted  up  my  hand  against  the  fatherless, 

1  m.  Or,  aught  that  the  poor  desired.  2  Vulg.  Targ.  Ar.  caused  me  to  grow  up. 

probably  with  the  versions,  "  were  we  not  fashioned  in  one  womb  ?" 
Perhaps  Job  did  not  mean  to  say  that  the  slaves  were  sons  of  the 
same  mother,  but  only  to  assert  by  strong  hyperbole  that  he  shared 
their  human  brotherhood. 

16.  The  poor  .  .  .  the  widow.  Eliphaz,  22  :  6,  9,  had  charged 
Job  with  these  especial  acts  of  cruelty. 

17.  Eaten  my  morsel  alone.  To  share  one's  bread  with  the 
hungry  was  a  part  of  the  prophetic  ideal  of  a  good  man,  see 
Isa.  58  :  7  ;    Eze.  18  :  7,  16. 

18.  Grew  up  with  me  as  with  a  father.  If  Job's  charity  was 
limited  to  those  who  grew  up  with  him,  it  was  not  very  merito- 
rious. We  should  read  with  the  versions  cited,  "He  {i.e.  God) 
like  a  father  caused  me  to  grow  up."  The  thought  then  is  that 
as  Job  had  been  cared  for  by  God,  so  he  felt  the  obligation  to  care 
for  others.  Have  been  her  guide  from  my  mother's  womb.  An 
impossible  assertion.  Think  of  an  infant  as  the  guide  of  a  widow  ! 
We  should,  with  several  scholars,  make  a  slight  change  in  the  He- 
brew, and  read,  "  And  he  (God)  was  my  guide  from  my  mother's 
womb,"     The  thought  of  the  previous  line  is  then  well  continued. 

19.  Needy  had  no  covering.  Again  he  reverts  to  the  stinging 
charge  of  Eliphaz  (22:6) — all  the  more  stinging  because  so 
untrue. 

21.  Against  the  fatherless.  As  it  seems  strange  to  have  an- 
other mention  of  the  orphan,  some  scholars  by  a  slightly  different 
grouping  of  the  Hebrew  letters   read,  "against   the   blameless." 

244 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


Because  I  saw  my  help  in  the  gate : 

22.  Then  let  my  shoulder  fall  from  the  shoulder  blade, 
And  mine  arm  be  broken  from  the  bone. 

23.  For  ^  calamity  from  God  was  a  terror  to  me, 
And  by  reason  of  his  excellency  I  could  do  nothing. 

24.  If  I  have  made  gold  my  hope, 

And  have  said  to  the  fine  gold,  Thou  art  my  con- 
fidence ; 

25.  If  I  rejoiced  because  my  wealth  was  great. 
And  because  mine  hand  had  gotten  much ; 

26.  If  I  beheld  -  the  sun  when  it  shined, 
Or  the  moon  walking  in  brightness ; 

27.  And  my  heart  hath  been  secretly  enticed, 
And  ^  my  mouth  hath  kissed  my  hand : 

28.  This  also  were  an  iniquity  to  be  punished  by  the 

judges  : 
For  I  should  have  ^  lied  to  God  that  is  above. 

29.  If  I  rejoiced  at  the  destruction  of  him  that  hated  me, 

1  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  the  fear  of  God  seized  me.  2  m.  Heb.  the  light.  »  m.  Heb. 

my  hand  kissed  my  mouth.  *  m.  Or,  denied  God. 

23.  Calamity  from  God  was  a  terror  to  me.  Read  with  the 
versions  cited,  "the  fear  of  God  seized  (or  restrained)  me." 

24.  Gold  my  hope.  Job  now  begins  to  deny  the  sins  of  the 
miser  or  money  worshipper. 

26.  The  sun.  While  the  Hebrew  has  "light,"  it  probably 
means  the  light  of  the  rising  sun.  All  over  the  Orient,  in  the 
poet's  time,  the  sun  was  a  common  object  of  worship  and  the 
splendid  light  of  the  rising  sun  fascinated  the  imagination.  Job 
here  begins   a  repudiation  of  idolatry. 

27.  Kissed  my  hand.  Kissing  the  images  of  Baal  was  a  part 
of  his  worship  (i  Kgs.  19:18;  Hos.  13:2).  In  sun-worship, 
according  to  Pliny,  the  hand  was,  according  to  the  custom  men- 
tioned here,  kissed  to  the  sun. 

28.  Iniquity  to  be  pimished  by  the  judges.  Deut.  17:  2-7 
makes  idolatry,  including  worship  of  the  sun  and  moon,  punish- 
able by  death.  Lied  to  God.  Read  with  the  margin,  "denied 
God." 

24s 


30  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


Or  lifted  up  myself  when  evil  found  him ; 

30.  (Yea,  I  suffered  not  my  ^  mouth  to  sin 
By  asking  his  life  with  a  curse ;) 

31.  If  the  men  of  my  tent  said  not, 

2  Who  can  find  one  that   hath  not  been  satisfied 
with  his  flesh  ? 

32.  The  stranger  did  not  lodge  in  the  street ; 
But  I  opened  my  doors  to  ^  the  traveller ; 

33.  If  *  like  Adam  I  covered  my  transgressions, 
By  hiding  mine  iniquity  in  my  bosom ; 

»  m.  Heb.  palate.  2  m.  Or,  Oh  that  we  had  of  his  flesh  I  We  cannot  be  satisfied. 

•  m.  Heb.  the  way.  *  m.  Or,  a.fter  the  manner  of  men. 

29.  Lifted  Up  myself .  Better,  "was  triumphant."  The  poet 
here  touches  a  very  lofty  note  —  one  that  is  decidedly  superior 
to  the  sentiment  of  most  of  the  Old  Testament  including  many 
Psalms ;  see,  for  example,  the  imprecations  of  Ps.  109 : 
6-15. 

30.  With  a  curse.  A  very  unusual  degree  of  self-restraint. 
Nothing  is  easier  than  for  an  Oriental  to  curse. 

31.  The  men  of  my  tent.  Job  not  only  maintained  a  lofty 
conception  as  to  his  own  inward  attitude,  but  inspired  this  spirit 
in  those  about  him.  Who  can  find.  We  should  translate  the 
whole  line  as  in  the  margin.  It  begins  with  a  peculiar  Hebrew 
idiom,  and  the  margin  correctly  renders  it. 

32.  The  traveller.  This  is  correct.  While  the  present  He- 
brew text,  as  the  margin  tells  us,  reads  "way,"  all  the  more  im- 
portant ancient  versions  by  a  slightly  different  pointing _  read 
"traveller."  Hospitality  was  one  of  the  most  sacred  duties  in 
the  Semitic  world ;   the  lack  of  it,  one  of  the  greatest  sins._ 

33.  Like  Adam.  Most  recent  commentators  read  with  the 
margin,  "after  the  manner  of  men,"  but  "Hke  Adam  "  is  better. 
Verses  38-40  are  clearly  a  reminiscence  of  the  story  of  Cain  and 
Abel.  These  verses  probably  originally  followed  v.  34  (see 
notes  on  them).  It  is  most  natural,  therefore,  that  this  verse 
should  refer  to  Adam's  attempt  to  hide  his  sin.  Gen.  3.  It  is 
no  sufficient  proof  of  the  contrary  that  Job  urges  in  the  next 
verse  the  fear  of  men  as  a  motive  for  himself,  while  Adam's 
motive  was  the  fear  of  Jehovah.  The  comparison  need  not 
cover  more  than  the  one  point  of  concealment  from  fear. 

246 


THE  BOOK   OF  JOB 


34.  Because  I  feared  the  great  multitude, 
And  the  contempt  of  famiUes  terrified  me, 

So  that  I  kept  silence,  and  went  not  out  of  the  door — 

35.  Oh  that  I  had  one  to  hear  me  ! 

(Lo,  here  is  my  ^  signature,  let  the  Almighty  answer 
me;) 

And  that  I  had  the  ^  indictment  which  mine  adver- 
sary hath  written ! 

36.  Surely  I  would  carry  it  upon  my  shoulder ; 
I  would  bind  it  unto  me  as  a  crown. 

37.  I  would  declare  unto  him  the  number  of  my  steps ; 
As  a  prince  would  I  ^  go  near  unto  him. 

1  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  hand.    m.  Heb.  mark.       ^  m.  Heb.  book.       ^  m.  Or,  present  it  to  him. 

34.  Because  I  feared.  Hidden  sin  makes  one  fearful.  "Con- 
science doth  make  cowards  of  us  all." 

35.  Oh  that  I  had  one  to  hear  me !  This  begins  Job's  final 
appeal.  Signature.  Whether  we  read  with  the  text,  "signature," 
with  the  versions,  "hand,"  or  with  the  margin,  "mark,"  Job 
means  that  he  sets  his  hand  to  the  foregoing  statement  and 
solemnly  vouches  for  its  truth.  Let  the  Almighty  answer  me. 
He  has  silenced  his  friends ;  he  now  challenges  God.  Indict- 
ment. This  is  the  correct  rendering  here.  The  Hebrew  word 
has  a  much  wider  signification  than  the  English  "book."  Ad- 
versary. A  reference  to  God.  Several  commentators  hesitate 
to  believe  this  and  look  for  a  human  adversary,  but  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  God  is  intended.  Job's  consciousness  of  innocence 
has  made  him  defiant  all  along  and  he  is  defiant  to  the  end. 

36.  As  a  crown.  Not,  as  some  suppose,  because  such  an  accusa- 
tion would  contain  nothing  against  him,  but  because,  although 
its  hideous  charges  should  be  commensurate  with  his  sufferings, 
his  conscious  innocence  would  enable  him  to  turn  the  shame  into 
glory.  The  approval  of  his  own  conscience  had  made  Job  in- 
dependent of  the  opinions  which  men  held  of  him;  he  believed 
it  had  made  him  also  independent  even  of  the  opinion  of  God. 

37.  As  a  prince.  Such  would  be  the  power  of  a  clean  conscience. 
It  is  a  sublime  conception  of  the  independence  and  noble  dignity 
of  the  pure  in  heart.  When  Job  had  seen  the  vision  of  God, 
however,  he  thought  differently,  cf.  42  :  6.  Go  near  unto  him. 
This  is  preferable  to  the  marginal  rendering. 

247 


THE  BOOK  OF   JOB 


38.  If  my  land  cry  out  against  me, 

And  the  furrows  thereof  weep  together ; 

39.  If  I  have  eaten  the  ^  fruits  thereof  without  money, 
Or  have  caused  the  owners  thereof  to  lose  their  life : 

40.  Let  2  thistles  grow  instead  of  wheat, 
And  2  cockle  instead  of  barley. 

The  words  of  Job  are  ended. 

IV.  The  Elihu  Interpolations,  Chs.  32-37 

I .   The  Prose  Introduction  to  the  Elihu  Interpolations,  32:1-6 

32.       So  ^  these  three  men  ceased  to  answer  Job,  because 
2.   he  was  righteous  in  ^  his  own  eyes.     Then  was  kindled 

1  m.  Heb.  strength.  2  m.  Or,  thorns.  ^  m.  Or,  noisome  weeds.         *  Gr.  Sah. 

Eth.  his  three  friends.  »  i  Heb.  MS.  Gr.  Sym.  Syr.  Eth.  Ar.  in  their  eyes. 

38.  If  my  land  cry  out  against  me.  Verses  38-40  are  cer- 
tainly out  of  place.  Such  a  skilful  poet  as  the  author  of  this  book 
has  shown  himself  certainly  did  not  spoil  the  splendid  climax 
reached  in  v.  37  by  the  addition  of  these  lines.  Scholars  are 
agreed  that  they  belong  earlier  in  the  chapter,  and  that  an  early 
copyist,  having  omitted  them  by  accident,  appended  them  here. 
Opinions  differ,  however,  as  to  the  part  of  the  chapter  in  which 
we  should  place  them.  The  present  writer  would  place  them 
after  v.  34.  The  "crying  out  "  of  the  "land  "  strikingly  recalls 
the  cry  of  Abel's  blood  from  the  ground.  Gen.  4 :  10.  Probably, 
as  in  V.  34,  the  poet  made  Job  refer  to  Adam,  so  here  he  drew 
a  parallel  with  the  story  of  Cain.  The  two  should  follow  one 
another  here  as  they  do  in  Genesis. 

39.  Caused  the  owners  thereof  to  lose  their  life.  Again  the 
phrase  is  determined  by  the  recollection  of  the  murder  of  Abel 
by  Cain,  Gen.  4 :  8. 

40.  Let  thistles  grow  instead  of  wheat.  This  impresses  one 
as  a  punishment  quite  inadequate  to  the  crime  until  the  reference 
to  Gen.  3,  4  is  recognized.  It  then  appears  that  this  is  a  quota- 
tion from  Gen.  3:18,  and  by  the  suggestions  afforded  by  that 
ancient  passage,  a  real  climax  is  produced.  The  words  of  Job  are 
ended  is  a  late  editorial  gloss. 

I.  These  three  men.  Read  with  the  versions  cited,  "his  three 
friends  "  ;  cf.  2  :  11.  In  his  own  eyes.  This  is  right ;  the  author- 
ities which  read  "their  eyes"  are  clearly  mistaken. 

248 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


the  wrath  of  Elihu  the  son  of  Barachel  the  Buzite, 
of  the  family  of  Ram  ^ :  against  Job  was  his  wrath 
kindled,  because  he  justified  himself  rather  than  God. 

3.  Also  against  his  three  friends  was  his  wrath  kindled, 
because  they  had  found  no  answer,  and  yet  had  ^  con- 

4.  demned  ^  Job.     Now  Elihu  had  ^  waited  to  speak  unto 

1  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  add  of  the  land  of  Uz.  2  Some  Gr.  MSS.  Syr.  Hex.  justified. 

8  Jewish  tradition,  God.  *  m.  Heb.  waited  for  Job  with  words. 

2.  Elihu.  A  new  character.  The  name  means  *'He  is  my 
God."  The  name  was  borne  by  four  other  characters  in  the 
Old  Testament :  Samuel's  great-grandfather,  i  Sam.  1:1;  a 
chieftain  of  Manasseh,  i  Chr.  12:  20;  a  Korahite,  i  Chr.  26 :  7  ; 
and  according  to  i  Chr.  27:18  (where  it  is  a  mistake  for  Eliab, 
I  Sam.  16:  6),  one  of  the  brethren  of  David.  Elihu  may  have 
been  the  name  of  the  real  author  of  one  or  both  of  the  additions  to 
the  poem  which  stand  under  this  name,  but  this  genealogy  is  sus- 
picious, and  the  name  may  be  an  ideal  creation.  The  son  of  Ba- 
rachel the  Buzite,  of  the  family  of  Ram.  It  seems  strange  that 
while  the  genealogy  of  Job  is  unknown,  that  of  Elihu  should  be  so 
fully  given.  "Barachel"  is  a  name  which  occurs  nowhere  else, 
though  names  similarly  formed  occur  in  Phoenician  and  Pal- 
myrene  inscriptions.  It  means  "God  blesses,"  and  may  be  an 
ideal  name.  The  name  "Buz"  means  "despise,"  though  it 
occurs  in  Gen.  22  :  21  as  a  brother  of  Uz.  It  is  significant,  how- 
ever, that  "Buzite  of  the  family  "  is  in  Hebrew  almost  identical 
with  "contempt  of  families  "  in  31 :34.  "Ram"  means  "exalted." 
It  occurs  elsewhere  as  a  name  only  in  Ruth  4 :  19  ;  i  Chr.  2:  g  Q.., 
25  ff. 

Probably  the  words,  "Then  was  the  wrath  of  Elihu  of  the 
family  of  Ram  kindled,"  belonged  to  the  introduction  of  docu- 
ment B  (see  Introduction,  pp.  27  ff.).  The  rest  of  the  verse  is  a  late 
editorial  expansion  of  v.  6a.  While  the  genealogy  is  ideal, 
making  Elihu  a  Buzite,  he  is  made  to  belong  to  a  village  near  to 
Uz  (Gen.  22  :  21)  and  so  a  man  who  might  naturally  be  present. 
The  Greek  and  kindred  versions  say  that  he  was  of  "the  land  of 
Uz." 

His  three  friends.  These  words  belong  to  the  introduction 
to  the  B  interpolation.  They  followed  the  word  "kindled" 
of  V.  2. 

3.  Found  no  answer,  and  yet  had  condemned  Job.  As  the 
text  stands  it  seems  to  mean  that  they  had  condemned  Job  with- 

249 


THE   BOOK  OF   JOB 


5.  Job,  because  they  were  elder  than  he.  And  when 
EHhu  saw  that  there  was  no  answer  in  the  mouth  of 
these  three  men,  his  wrath  was  kindled. 

6.  And  Elihu  the  son  of  Barachel  the  Buzite  answered 
and  said, 

2.   Elihu  explains   why  he  had  hitherto  kept    silence,  and 
why  he  now  speaks,  32  :  6b-22 

I  am  young,  and  ye  are  very  old ; 
Wherefore  I  held  back,  and  durst  not  shew  you 
mine  opinion. 

7.  I  said.  Days  should  speak. 

And  multitude  of  years  should  teach  wisdom. 

8.  But  ^  there  is  a  spirit  in  man, 

1  Sym.  the.  spirit  of  God  is  in  man. 

out  convincing  him  that  they  were  right.  If  we  read  with  the 
versions  cited,  the  meaning  is  that  they  "justified  "  Job  by  per- 
mitting him  to  talk  them  down  and  come  off  triumphant.  If  we 
interpret  with  the  Jewish  tradition,  the  meaning  is  that  they  had 
condemned  God  by  their  failure  to  reply  effectively  to  Job's 
charges.  It  is  difficult  to  choose  between  these  alternatives, 
though  the  first  is  based  on  the  best  attested  reading. 

5.  His  wrath  was  kindled.  A  statement  apparently  in  antici- 
pation of  V.  18  flf. 

6.  And  Elihu  the  son  of  Barachel  the  Buzite  answered.  As 
the  text  stands  this  is  a  needless  repetition.  The  original  in- 
troduction to  interpolation  A  read : 

"So  his  three  friends  ceased  to  answer  Job,  because  he  was 
righteous  in  his  own  eyes.  And  Elihu  the  son  of  Barachel,  the 
Buzite,  answered  and  said." 

6.  Wherefore  I  held  back.  In  the  Biblical  period  great  def- 
erence was  paid  to  the  wisdom  of  age.  "Elders"  were  the 
rulers  of  the  different  cities.  Elihu  on  this  account  makes  a  great 
show  of  modesty  to  explain  his  previous  silence,  but  in  the  sequel 
his  bashfulness  appears  to  have  been  lip-modesty. 

8.  There  is  a  spirit  in  man.  Perhaps  we  should  read  with 
Symmachus,  "the  spirit  of  God  is  in  man."  While  Elihu  makes 
the  statement  general,  he  claims  that  God's  spirit  can  give  divine 


THE   BOOK   OF  JOB 


And  the  breath  of  the  Almighty  giveth  them 
understanding. 
9.  It  is  not  the  ^  great  that  are  wise, 

Nor  the  aged  that  understand  judgement. 

10.  Therefore  I  ^  said,  Hearken  to  me ; 
I  also  will  shew  mine  opinion. 

11.  Behold,  I  waited  for  your  words, 
I  listened  for  your  reasons. 
Whilst  ye  searched  out  what  to  say. 

12.  Yea,  I  attended  unto  you, 

And,  behold,  there  was  none  that  convinced  Job, 
Or  that  answered  his  words,  among  you. 

13.  ^  Beware  lest  ye  say,  We  have  found  wisdom ; 
God  may  vanquish  him,  not  man : 

1  Gr.  Syr.  Vulg.  Sah.  Eth.  Ar.  elders.  ^  m.  Or,  say.  '  m.  Or,  Lest  ye  should 

say,  We  have  found  out  wisdom;  God  thrusteth  him  down,  not  man  :  now  he  6*c. 

inspiration  to  the  young  (v.  9)  and  that  it  has  given  such  in- 
spiration to  himself  (v.  10).  This  justifies  him  in  speaking  in 
the  presence  of  elders. 

9.    The  great.     Read  with  the  versions,  "the  elders." 

ID.  Therefore.  This  word  makes  vs.  8  and  9  Elihu's  reason 
for  speaking,  i.e.  he  is  qualified  by  inspiration,  therefore,  though 
young,  he  speaks. 

II.  I  waited  for  your  words.  These  words  repeat  in  different 
form  the  idea  of  v.  6.  The  words  that  follow  up  to  v.  17  really 
treat  of  a  different  theme  —  the  unconvincing  character  of  the 
friends'  arguments  —  leading  up  in  17b  to  the  same  words  that 
we  have  had  in  lob.  In  v.  18  the  thought  of  v.  10  is  resumed 
and  personal  reasons  are  given  why  Elihu  should  speak.  Prob- 
ably Dr.  Nichols  is  right,  therefore,  in  regarding  these  verses 
as  really  the  introduction  to  ch.  34.  When  they  are  omitted 
from  ch.  32,  the  argument  of  Elihu  becomes  much  more  consistent. 

13.  Lest  ye  say.  The  reading  of  the  text  for  the  whole  verse 
is  to  be  preferred  to  that  of  the  margin.  We  have  found  wisdom. 
That  is,  in  Job.  The  friends  might  excuse  themselves  that  they 
had  discovered  a  wisdom  to  which  their  arguments  were  not 
equal.  God  may  vanquish  him,  not  man.  These  words  are  a 
direct  polemic  against  the  poet  for  bringing  God  into  the  dialogue. 


THE   BOOK   OF  JOB 


14.  For  he  hath  not  directed  his  words  against  me ; 
Neither  will  I  answer  him  with  your  speeches. 

15.  They  are  amazed,  they  answer  no  more : 
They  have  not  a  word  to  say. 

16.  And  shall  I  wait,  because  they  speak  not, 
Because  they  stand  still,  and  answer  no  more  ? 

17.  ^  I  also  will  answer  my  part, 

I  also  will  shew  mine  opinion. 

18.  For  I  am  full  of  words ; 

The  spirit  ^  within  me  constraineth  me. 

1  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  have  for  this  line  Attd  Elihu  answered  and  said.      2  m.  jjgb,  of  ffiy  idly. 

This  interpolator  thinks  men  should  have  been  made  to  convince 
Job. 

14.  Not  directed  his  words  against  me.  That  is,  he  had  not 
yet  debated  with  Ehhu.  Neither  will  I  answer  him  with 
your  speeches.  The  interpolator  promises  to  use  better  argu- 
ments than  the  friends  had.  In  reality  the  same  old  ideas  are 
repeated. 

15.  They  are  amazed.  The  friends  are  referred  to  in  the 
third  person  to  make  it  more  contemptuous.  Compare  Isa.  22: 
i6b. 

16.  Wait,  because  they  speak  not.  Because  three  men  have 
been  worsted  is  no  reason  why  another  should  not  attempt  the 
task. 

17.  I  also  will  answer  my  part.  These  words  are  probably 
an  attempt  to  make  poetry  out  of  "And  Elihu  answered  and 
said,"  which  is  still  found  in  the  versions  quoted  above.  We 
should  restore  the  original  reading  and  place  this  after  v.  5  and 
before  v.  11.  This  interpolator's  statement  read,  we  suppose, 
in  part  as  follows  : 

(v.  5)  "And  when  Elihu  saw  that  there  was  no  answer  in 
the  mouth  of  these  three  men,  his  wrath  was  kindled,  (v.  17) 
And  Elihu  answered  and  said : 

(v.  11)  "Behold  I  waited  for  your  words, 

I  Hstened  for  your  reasons." 

I  also  will  shew  mine  opinion.  This  line  is  identical  with  v. 
lob.  It  was  repeated  when  the  two  interpolations  were  woven 
together,  and  should  be  stricken  out. 

252 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


19.  Behold,  my  belly  is  as  wine  which  hath  no  vent ; 
Like  new  ^  bottles  ^  it  is  ready  to  burst. 

20.  I  will  speak,  that  I  may  ^  be  refreshed ; 
I  will  open  my  lips  and  answer. 

21.  Let  me  not,  I  pray  you,  respect  any  man's  person ; 
Neither  will  I  give  flattering  titles  unto  any  man. 

22.  For  I  know  not  to  give  flattering  titles ; 
Else  would  my  Maker  soon  take  me  away. 

3.   Elihu  seeks  to  show  Job  his  Error,  Ch.  33 
33.  Howbeit,  Job,  I  pray  thee,  hear  my  speech, 

And  hearken  to  all  my  words. 
2.  Behold  now,  I  have  opened  my  mouth, 

1  m.  Or,  wine  skins.  ^  m.  Or,  which  are  ready.  ^  m.  Or,  find  relief. 

18.  The  spirit  within  me.  This  verse  connects  directly  with 
V.  10,  continuing  the  thought  of  vs.  6-10.  The  "spirit  "is  the 
Divine  Spirit,  the  inspiration  of  which  Elihu  had  claimed  in  v.  8. 

19.  Bottles.  The  marginal  "wine  skins  "  gives  us  the  fact. 
Compare  RV  of  Matt.  9:17;  Mk.  2:22;  Luke.  5:37.  Such  skins 
are  largely  used  in  Palestine  instead  of  bottles  at  the  present  time. 

20.  Be  refreshed.  The  margin,  "find  relief,"  is  better.  The 
figure  is  still  that  of  fermenting  wine. 

21.  Give  flattering  titles.  The  speaker  promises  to  be  sincere 
and  fearless.     He  will  discuss  the  problem  solely  on  its  merits. 

22.  Else  would  my  Maker.  Fear  of  God  preserves  him,  he 
believes,  from  fawning  on  men. 

(i)    He  invites  Job  to  hear  him,  since  he  is  a  man  and  not  terrifying 
God;   33  :  1-7 

1.  Job  .  .  .  hear  my  speech.  Having  made  a  suitable  in- 
troduction of  himself,  interpolator  A  now  addresses  himself  to 
Job.  He  makes  Elihu  the  only  character  in  the  book  who  fre- 
quently calls  Job  by  name.  In  the  main  part  of  the  poem  the 
friends  do  not  do  this,  while  interpolator  B  makes  Elihu  address 
himself  not  to  Job,  but  to  the  friends. 

2.  I  have  opened  my  mouth.  It  is  incredible  that  the  genius 
who  wrote  the  main  poem  should  have  devoted  a  verse  to  this 
trivial  statement  and  thought  it  poetry !  Interpolator  A  be- 
longed to  that  prosaic  class  of  good  souls  whose  chief  claim  to 
distinction  is  orthodox  piety,  rather  than  poetic  gifts. 

253 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


My  tongue  hath  spoken  in  my  ^  mouth. 

3.  My  words  shall  utter  the  uprightness  of  my  heart : 
And   that   which   my   Hps  know  they  shall  speak 

sincerely. 

4.  The  spirit  of  God  ^  hath  made  me, 

And  the  breath  of  the  Almighty  ^  giveth  me  Ufe. 

5.  If  thou  canst,  answer  thou  me ; 

Set  thy  words  in  order  before  me,  stand  forth. 

6.  Behold,"^  I  am  toward  God  even  as  thou  art : 
I  also  am  formed  out  of  the  clay. 

7.  Behold,  my  terror  shall  not  make  thee  afraid. 
Neither  shall  ^  my  pressure  be  heavy  upon  thee. 


1  m.  Heb.  palate.  2  gyr.  Ar.  arouses  me.  ^  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  instructs  me. 

«  m.  Or,  /  am  according  to  thy  wish  in  God's  stead.  ^  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  my  hand. 


3.  My   words    shall    utter    the    uprightness    of  my    heart. 

Literally,  "My  words  are  the  uprightness  of  my  heart"  — 
an  awkward  expression.  Perhaps  as  Duhm  has  suggested  we 
should  change  a  single  letter  and  read,  "My  heart  impels  my 
words." 

4.  Hath  made  me.  As  Peake  has  seen,  this  verse  should  follow 
V.  6,  where  it  makes  good  sense.  Its  accidental  transposition 
to  its  present  position  probably  gave  rise  to  the  readings  of  the 
versions. 

5.  If  thou  canst,  answer.  This  should  follow  immediately  after 
V.  3- 

6.  I  am  toward  God  even  as  thou  art.  This  is  correct.  Elihu 
is  assuring  Job  that  he  is  a  man,  and  not  One  whose  splendor 
and  power  will  unman  him.  The  margin  is  incorrect,  for  Job 
had  not  asked  for  a  human  being  or  even  for  an  angel  in  God's 
place,  but  for  God  himself ;  see  31:35.  Verse  4  should  follow  this 
verse,  to  impress  its  meaning. 

7.  My  terror  shall  not  make  thee  afraid.  Job  had  twice  com- 
plained that  God's  terror  overwhelmed  and  unmanned  him 
(9:  34;  13  :  21).  Ehhu  assures  Job  that  he,  a  mere  man,  comes 
with  no  such  terrors,  that  Job  can  Hsten  to  him  collectedly.  My 
pressure.  Read  with  the  versions  cited,  "my  hand."  Job  had 
also  complained  in  19  :  21  that  the  hand  of  God  had  smitten 
him. 

254 


THE  BOOK   OF   JOB 


8.       Surely  thou  hast  spoken  in  mine  hearing, 

And  I  have  heard  the  voice  of  thy  words,  saying, 

g.       I  am  clean,  without  transgression ; 

I  am  innocent,  neither  is  there  iniquity  in  me : 

10.  Behold,  he  findeth  ^  occasions  against  me, 
He  counteth  me  for  his  enemy ; 

11.  He  putteth  my  feet  in  the  stocks, 
He  marketh  all  my  paths. 

12.  2  Behold,  I  will  answer  thee,  in  this  thou  art  not  just ; 

1  m.  causes  of  alienation.  2  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  How  dost  thou  say  I  am  just, 

but  he  does  not  answer  me.     m.  Or,  Behold  in  this  thou  art  not  just;  I  will  answer  thee: 
for  6*c. 


(2)    EHhu  restates  Job's  position,   33  :  8-13 

8.  Thou  hast  spoken  in  mine  hearing.  After  this  long,  boast- 
ful introduction,  in  which  the  modest  Elihu  makes  himself  out  so 
much  wiser  than  his  elders  and  claims  to  have  special  information 
given  him  by  God  on  these  matters,  he  finally  comes  to  the  matter 
in  hand.  In  order  to  introduce  it,  he  represents  himself  again 
as  a  listener  to  the  whole  debate. 

9.  Clean,  without  transgression.  This  does  Job  injustice,  for 
he  had  admitted  transgressions  (7:21;  13:26).  Nevertheless 
Job  had  asserted  his  integrity  with  so  much  more  emphasis  (9 : 
21 ;  10  :  7  ;  13  :  18  ;  16  :  17  ;  23  :  7,  10-12  ;  27  :  4-6  ;  and  ch.  31), 
that  Elihu's  sweeping  statement  is  pardonable. 

10.  Occasions.  The  margin,  "causes  of  alienation  "  gives  the 
meaning.     He  counteth  me  for  his  enemy.     Quoted  from  13  :  24. 

11.  He  putteth  my  feet  in  the  stocks.  The  verse  is  quoted 
from  13  :  27. 

12.  Behold,  I  will  answer  thee,  etc.  The  versions  quoted 
had  a  different  text,  and  one  that  continued  the  quotations  from 
Job.  They  are  in  the  main  to  be  followed,  though  one  or  two  of 
their  mistakes  should  be  corrected.  They  have  probably,  as 
has  been  noted  by  others,  mistaken  the  Hebrew  word  for  "cry  " 
for  the  word  for  "righteous,"  the  two  being  much  alike.  They 
have  also  in  the  second  Hne,  as  Duhm  perceived,  mistaken  the 
word  "hide  "  for  "eternal,"  the  two  being  from  the  same  stem. 
If  we  make  these  corrections,  the  verse  reads : 

"  How  dost  thou  say :   I  cry  and  he  answers  not, 
God  hides  himself  from  men?  " 

255 


THE   BOOK   OF  JOB 


^  For  God  is  greater  than  man. 

13.  ^  Why  dost  thou  strive  against  him  ? 

For  he  giveth  not  account  of  any  of  his  matters. 

14.  For  God  speaketh  ^  once, 

Yea  twice,  though  man  regardeth  it  not. 

15.  In  a  dream,  in  a  vision  of  the  night. 
When  deep  sleep  falleth  upon  men, 
In  slumberings  upon  the  bed ; 

16.  Then  he  ^  openeth  the  ears  of  men, 

i_Gr.  Sail.  Eth.  For  he  is  eternal  above  mortals.  2  m.  Qr,  Why  dost  thou  strive 

against  him,  for  that  he  .  .  .  matters?  ^  m.  Or,  in  one  way,  yea,  in  two.  *  m. 

Heb.  uncovereth. 

The  first  line  quotes  9:16;    19:7;    30 :  20 ;    the  second,  13  :  24 ; 
23:  8,  9;  26:  14. 

13.  He  giveth  not  account  of  any  of  his  matters.  This  trans- 
lation makes  the  meaning,  "Why  strive  to  obtain  an  answer  from 
one  who  never  replies  concerning  such  matters,"  and  implies 
that  the  struggle  is  useless.  This  is,  however,  in  contradiction 
with  vs.  14  ff.,  where  Elihu  tells  how  God  replies.  The  marginal 
rendering  means,  "Why  complain  that  God  does  not  explain  his 
dealings  with  thee?  "  In  reality  both  translations  of  the  line 
are  wrong.  The  Hebrew  rendered  "matters"  really  means 
"words,"  and,  as  other  scholars  have  seen,  the  possessive  pronoun 
should  be  corrected  to  "thy."     The  verse  then  reads: 

"Why  dost  thou  strive  against  him? 
Because  he  does  not  answer  thy  words?  " 

(3)    God  seeks    by  night   visions  and  by  chastisements   to  redeem 
men,   33 :    14-30 

14.  Once,  yea  twice.  Elihu  now  turns  to  tell  Job  that  God 
does  answer  and  to  imply  that  God  has  answered  him,  though 
Job  has  missed  it  through  heedlessness.  Instead  of  "once,  yea 
twice,"  we  should  read  with  the  margin,"  in  one  way,  yea,  in  two." 
These  ways  are  the  two  which  are  described  in  the  following 
verses,  dreams  and  chastisements.  Though  man  regardeth  it 
not.  As  Ley  has  suggested,  we  should  read,  "if  man  regardeth 
it  not."  If  men  heed  dreams,  God  does  not  send  the  more  severe 
answer,  chastisements,  is  Elihu's  reasoning. 

15.  In  a  dream.  The  description  is  based  upon  that  of  Eli- 
phaz  in  4:  12  ff.,  the  second  line  being  a  quotation  from  4:  13. 

256 


THE   BOOK   OF   JOB 


And  ^  sealeth  ^  their  instruction, 

17.  ^  That  he  may  withdraw  man  ^ /row  his  purpose 
And  ^  hide  ®  pride  from  man ; 

18.  ^  He  keepeth  back  his  soul  from  the  pit, 
And  his  Hfe  from  perishing  ^  by  the  ^  sword.   ,» 

19.  ^°  He  is  chastened  also  with  pain  upon  his  bed, 
^1  And  with  continual  strife  in  his  bones : 


1  Gr.  OLat.  Aq.  Sah.  Eth.  terrifies  them.     Syr.  Ar.  humbles  them.    Vulg.  instructs 
them.  2  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  with  visions.     Aq.  Vulg.  with  correction.         ^  m.  Or, 

That  man  may  put  away  his  purpose  and  that  he  may  hide.  _  ^  Gr.  OLat.  Syr.  Targ. 

Sah.  Eth.  At.  from  wickedness.  ^  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  deliver  from  ruin.         ^  Gr. 

OLat.  Syr.  Sah.  Eth.  Ar.  his  body.  ^  m.  Or,  That  he  may  keep  back.  s  Syr. 

from  Abaddon.  ^  m.  Or,  weapons.  i"  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  Or  again  he  chastens  him. 
"  Theod.  And  the  fulness  of  his  bones  he  restrains.  Syr.  Ar.  And  the  multitude  of  his 
bones  are  broken.  Vulg.  And  he  makes  all  his  bones  to  rot.  m.  Another  reading  [Targ.] 
is,  While  all  his  bones  are  firm. 


16.  Sealeth  their  instruction.  The  Hebrew  gives  the  thought 
as  well  as  any  of  the  versions  cited. 

17.  From  his  purpose.  Read  with  the  versions,  "from  wicked- 
ness." And  hide  pride  from  man.  Again  read  with  the  versions, 
"And  save  his  body  from  destruction."  The  text  as  it  stands 
is  clearly  wrong.  Some  scholars  seek  to  improve  it  by  changing 
the  verb  "hide  "  to  "destroy  "  or  "cut  off,"  but  the  reading  of 
the  versions  is  better,  as  it  makes  a  progress  of  thought  from 
"wickedness  "  (17a)  to  "destruction  of  the  body  "  (17b)  and  the 
going  of  the  soul  to  Sheol  (18). 

18.  He  keepeth  back.  Read  with  the  margin,  "That  he  may 
keep  back."  By  the  sword.  This  gives  no  satisfactory  mean- 
ing. The  Syriac  reading  "from  Abaddon  "  points  in  the  right 
direction.  "In  Sheol  "  was,  perhaps,  the  real  reading,  as  in  He- 
brew, it  would  not  differ  greatly  from  "by  the  sword  "  and  might 
easily  have  been  corrupted  into  it. 

M  19.  He  is  chastened.  We  should  read  with  the  versions,  "Or 
he  is  chastened."  Elihu  has  completed  his  description  of  one 
class  of  God's  warnings,  visions,  and  now  turns  to  the  second 
class,  chastisements.  The  Hebrew  text  as  it  stands  has  lost  the 
transition.  And  with  continual  strife  in  his  bones.  This  is  an 
unintelligible  statement.  The  great  variety  of  readings  in  the 
versions  (cited  above)  shows  that  the  text  is  corrupt.  Probably 
we  cannot  do  better  than  to  read  with  the  Vulgate,  "Makes  all 
his  bones  to  rot,"  cf.  13  :  28. 

s  257 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


20.  So  that  his  Hfe  abhorreth  bread, 
And  his  soul  dainty  meat. 

21.  His  flesh  is  consumed  away,    that   it    cannot   be 

seen; 
And  his  bones  that  were  not  seen  stick  out. 

22.  Yea,  his  soul  draweth  near  unto  the  pit. 
And  his  life  ^  to  the  destroyers. 

23.  If  there  be  with  him  ^  an  angel, 

An  interpreter,  one  ^  among  a  thousand, 
To  shew  unto  man  ^  what  is  right  for  him ; 

1  Gr.  OLat.  Syr.  Vulg.  Targ.  Sah.  Ar.  Eth.  to  the  dead.  2  m.  Qr,  a  messenger. 

'  m.  Or,  of  the  thousand.  ^  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  his  fault,     m.  Or,  his  uprightness. 

20.  His  life.  Stands  here  for  his  whole  personality.  It  is 
a  strong  expression  for  his  "appetite." 

21.  That  it  cannot  be  seen.  The  hyperbole  is  too  strong.  In 
the  greatest  illness  this  does  not  happen.  Several  commentators 
have  seen  that  the  change  of  a  single  letter  in  the  Hebrew  would 
make  the  line : 

"His  flesh  is  consumed  away  by  leanness." 

22.  To  the  destroyers.  By  simply  spacing  the  Hebrew  letters 
differently,  we  should  read  with  the  versions,  "to  the  dead." 

23.  An  angel.  Most  interpreters  make  this  a  supernatural 
being,  but  this  is  unnecessary.  As  the  margin  shows,  the  word 
means  simply  "messenger"  (cf.  Mai.  3:1).  A  human  mes- 
senger is,  perhaps,  better  for  the  mission  which  Elihu  is  de- 
scribing than  an  angel.  Elihu  is  here  depicting  the  role  which 
he  himself  is  playing.  By  a  "  messenger "  he  means  himself. 
One  among  a  thousand.  The  text  here  is  better  than  the  mar- 
ginal rendering.  Such  a  "  messenger "  must  be  a  picked  man, 
inspired  by  God,  as  Elihu  claimed  to  be  (32  :  8,  9,  18).  Not 
every  one  was  equal  to  the  task.  The  remark  is  a  reflection  on 
the  friends ;  they  had  assayed  the  task  and  failed.  To  shew  unto 
man.  This  messenger  is  to  be  an  interpreter  to  the  sufferer  of 
his  present  painful  experience.  What  is  right  for  him.  _  If  we 
retain  the  text  as  it  stands,  we  must  read  with  the  margin  "his 
uprightness  "  and  understand  the  "his  "  to  refer  to  God.  That 
gives  an  intelligible  meaning.  Job  had  failed  to  understand 
God's  justice  in  his  case,  and  Elihu  sets  himself  to  explain  it  to 
him.     Perhaps,  however,  on  the  basis  of  the  versions  cited,  we 

258 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


24.  ^  Then  he  is  gracious  unto  him,  and  saith, 
DeUver  him  from  going  down  to  the  pit, 
I  have  found  a  ransom. 

25.  His  flesh  shall  be  fresher  than  a  child's ; 
He  returneth  to  the  days  of  his  youth : 

26.  He  prayeth  unto  God,  and  he  is  favourable  imto 

him; 
So  that  he  seeth  his  face  with  joy : 
And  he  restoreth  unto  man  his  righteousness. 

27.  ^  He  singe th  before  men,  and  saith, 

I  have  sinned,  and  perverted  that  which  was  right, 
And  ^  it  profited  me  not : 

28.  He  hath  redeemed  my  soul  from  going  into  the  pit, 
And  my  hfe  shall  behold  the  hght. 

29.  Lo,  all  these  things  doth  God  work. 


^  m.Oi,  And  he  is  gracious  .  .  .  and,  say  .  .  .  ransom:  his  flesh  &'c.  2  nj.  Or, 

He  looketh  upon  men.  ^  m.  Or,  it  was  ml  requited  unto  me,  or,  it  was  not  meet  for  me. 


should  read,  "To  interpret  unto  man  his  chastisement."  The 
meaning  would  then  be  that  Elihu  undertakes  to  make  Job  un- 
derstand  why  he  has  suffered. 

24.  Then  he  is  gracious.  That  is,  when  man  once  compre- 
hends the  true  situation.  It  is  taken  for  granted  that  then  he 
will  repent.  The  rendering  of  the  text  is  preferable  to  that  of 
the  margin.     Ransom.     We  should  probably  add  "for  his  life." 

25.  Be  fresher.  The  Hebrew  word  thus  rendered  occurs 
nowhere  else  and  is  certainly  a  corruption.  We  should  probably 
read,  "His  flesh  becomes  abundant  as  a  boy's."  This  is  said  in 
contrast  to  the  emaciation  depicted  in  v.  21. 

26.  He  is  favourable  unto  him.  This  verse  depicts  his  religious 
rehabilitation  as  v.  25  his  physical  rehabilitation. 

27.  He  singeth  before  men.  This  is  much  to  be  preferred  to 
the  marginal  reading.  Probably  the  meaning  is  that  he  joins 
in  the  singing  of  the  synagogue  or  the  temple ;  cf.  Ps.  42  :  4. 
Profited  me  not.  Read  with  the  first  margin,  "It  was  not  re- 
quited unto  me."  The  penitent  rejoices  because  he  was  forgiven 
instead  of  being  punished. 

28.  Behold  the  light.  The  light  of  the  upper  world  in  contrast 
to  the  darkness  of  the  "pit"  of  Sheol. 

259 


30  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


Twice,  yea  thrice,  with  a  man, 

30.  To  bring  back  his  soul  from  the  pit, 

That  he  may  be  enlightened  with  the  light  of  ^  the  living. 

31.  Mark  well,  O  Job,  hearken  unto  me : 
Hold  thy  peace,  and  I  will  speak. 

32.  If  thou  hast  any  thing  to  say,  answer  me : 
Speak,  for  I  desire  to  justify  thee. 

2)2)'   If  not,  hearken  thou  unto  me : 

Hold  thy  peace,  and  I  will  teach  thee  wisdom. 

4.   Eliku  appeals  from  Job  to  the  Wise,  Ch.  34 
34.       Moreover  Elihu  answered  and  said, 
2.   Hear  my  words,  ye  wise  men ; 

1  m.  Or,  life. 

29.  Twice,  yea  thrice.  In  his  mercy  God  gives  more  than  one 
opportunity. 

30.  The  living.  Read  with  the  margin,  "life."  Elihu's  first 
argument  as  given  by  interpolator  A  ends  here.  The  verses 
which  follow  are  the  introduction  to  the  second  argument,  which 
is  continued  in  ch.  35. 

(4)    Elihu  adjures  J  oh  to  listen  further,  33  :  31-33 

31.  Mark  well,  O  Job.  These  words  begin  the  second  dis- 
course of  Elihu  as  given  by  interpolator  A.  In  vs.  31-33  he  is 
inviting  Job's  attention.  Hold  thy  peace.  In  the  light  of  the 
following  verse  we  should  understand  this  to  mean,  "If  thou 
holdest  thy  peace,  I  will  continue  speaking." 

32.  If  thou  hast  any  thing  to  say,  answer  me.  The  interpolator 
makes  Elihu  assume  the  appearance  of  fairness  to  Job  by  giving 
him  an  opportunity  to  reply. 

33.  If  not,  hearken.  By  this  device  the  writer  produces  the 
impression  that  Job  found  Elihu's  argument  unanswerable !  As 
noted  above,  the  discourse  to  which  this  is  an  introduction  now 
stands  in  ch.  35. 

(i)    He  invites  their  attention  to  JoVs  position,  34  : 1-9 

1.  Moreover  Elihu  answered  and  said.  This  verse  is  a  late 
editorial  addition  similar  to  27  :  i ;    29 :  i  ;  35  :  i,  etc. 

2.  Hear  my  words.     With  this  verse  we  come  again  to  the 

260 


THE   BOOK   OF  JOB 


And  give  ear  unto  me,  ye  that  have  knowledge. 

3.  For  the  ear  trieth  words, 
As  the  palate  tasteth  meat. 

4.  Let  us  choose  for  us  that  which  is  right : 
Let  us  know  among  ourselves  what  is  good. 

5.  For  Job  hath  said,  I  am  righteous, 
And  God  hath  taken  away  my  right : 

6.  ^  Notwithstanding  my  right  I  am  accounted  a  liar ; 

2  My  wound  is  incurable,  though  I  am  without  trans- 
gression. 

7.  What  man  is  like  Job, 

Who  drinketh  up  scorning  like  water  ? 

8.  Which  goeth  in  company  with  the  workers  of  iniquity, 

1  m.  Or,  Should  I  lie  against  my  right  2  m.  Heb.  Mine  arrow. 

work  of  interpolator  B.  The  introduction  to  this  section  is  prob- 
ably, as  we  have  seen,  in  32:  17a,  11-16.  In  those  verses  the 
writer  had  made  Elihu  address  the  friends  and  tell  them  how 
inadequate  their  answers  to  Job  had  been.  In  this  section  he 
begins  to  combat  Job's  argument.  Ye  wise  men.  In  form  this 
is  an  address  to  the  friends,  but  by  choosing  the  term  "wise  men," 
the  writer  really  makes  an  appeal  to  all  intelligent  readers  of  the 
poem.  He  wishes  to  appeal  to  their  good  judgment  to  condemn 
the  blasphemous  sentiments  to  which  Job  has  given  utterance. 

3.  The  ear  trieth  words.  The  verse  is  borrowed  from  12  :  11. 
See  note  there. 

4.  Choose  .  .  .  that  which  is  right.     Compare  Luke  12:  57. 

5.  Job  hath  said,  I  am  righteous.      Compare   13  :  18  ;    27:2. 

6.  I  am  accounted  a  liar.  The  rendering  of  the  text  is  to  be 
preferred  to  that  of  the  margin.  It  was  in  substance  one  of  Job's 
grievances  that,  though  innocent,  God  accounted  him  as  guilty, 
thus  in  substance  counting  him  a  liar.  This  interpolator  makes 
Job  complain  that  God  unjustly  wounded  him  when  innocent. 
According  to  interpolator  A  (33  :  10-12)  Job's  complaint  was  that 
after  afHicting  Job  God  would  not  hear  his  cry.  The  writer  B 
has  perceived  the  fundamental  difficulty  better  than  the  writer  A. 

7.  Scorning.  Here  almost  equal  to  "blasphemy."  Cf.  Ps. 
1:1.  Elihu  is  expressing  his  abhorrence  of  Job's  utterances. 
Like  water.  Cf.  15  :  16.  Everything  in  Palestine  drinks  water 
with  avidity. 

261 


34:9  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


And  walketh  with  wicked  men. 
9.  For  he  hath  said,  It  profiteth  a  man  nothing 

That  he  should  ^  deUght  himself  with  God. 

10.  Therefore  hearken  unto  me,  ye  men  of  under- 

standing : 
Far  be  it  from  God,  that  he  should  do  wickedness ; 
And  from  the  Almighty,  that  he  should  commit 

iniquity. 

11.  For  the  work  of  a  man  shall  he  render  unto  him. 
And  cause  every  man  to  find  according  to  his 

ways. 

12.  Yea,  of  a  surety,  God  will  not  do  wickedly, 
Neither  will  the  Almighty  pervert  judgement. 

13.  Who  gave  him  a  charge  over  the  earth  ? 
Or  who  hath  ^  disposed  the  whole  world  ? 

14.  3  If  he  ^  set  his  ^  heart  ^  upon  ^  man, 

1  m.  Or,  consent  with.     See  Ps.  50 :  18.                2  m,  Qr,  laid  upon  him.  ^  m. 

According  to  another  reading,  //  he  cause  his  heart  to  return  unto  himself.  *  5  Heb. 

MSS.  Gr.  Syr.  Sah.  Eth.  Ar.  cause  to  return.         »  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  omit  heart.  «  Gr. 
Syr.  Sah.  Eth.  Ar.  unto  himself,     m.  Or,  upon  himself.            "<  m.  Heb.  him. 

8.  "Walketh  with  wicked  men.  There  is  no  evidence  in  the 
story  that  Job  actually  ''walked  with  the  wicked."  This  is 
Elihu's  inference  from  Job's  words.  Such  sentiments  placed 
Job,  he  thought,  among  wicked  men. 

9.  It  profiteth  a  man  nothing.  Job's  words  in  21:15  are 
almost  literally  quoted,  but  cf.  also  9:  22  and  21:  17.  On  the 
difficulty  of  the  moral  problem  of  the  prosperity  of  the  wicked 
cf.  Ps.  37,  49»  73- 

(2)    Elihu  asserts  that  God  can  do  no  wrong,  34 :  10-15 

10.  God  ...  do  wickedness.  A  restatement  of  Bildad's 
assertion  in  8:3. 

11.  Work  of  a  man  .  .  .  render  imto  him.  The  evil  really 
originates  with  the  man,  says  Elihu. 

13.  Disposed.  Read  with  the  margin,  "laid  upon  him." 
Elihu  in  this  rhetorical  way  asserts  that  God  is  supreme.  No 
one  has  given  him  his  great  task  and  he  is  accountable  to  no  one. 

14.  If  he  set  his  heart  upon  man.     The  idea  conveyed  by 

262 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


//he  gather  unto  himself  his  spirit  and  his  breath; 

15.  All  flesh  shall  perish  together, 

And  man  shall  turn  again  unto  dust. 

16.  ^  If  now  thou  hast  understanding,  hear  this : 
Hearken  to  the  voice  of  my  words. 

17.  Shall  even  one  that  hateth  right  govern  ? 

And  wilt  thou  condemn  him  that  is  just  and 
mighty  ? 

18.  ^  Is  it  ^/  to  say  to  a  king.  Thou  art  vile  ? 

1  Gr.  Aq.  Sym.  Syr.  Vulg.  Targ.  Sah.  Eth.  Ar.  //  thou  under standest.  m.  Or,  Only 
understand.  ^  m.  Or,  read  by  some  ancient  versions  [Gr.  Syr.  Vulg.  Sah.  Eth.  Ar.], 
Who  saith  to  .  .  .  vile,  and  to  .  .  .  wicked;  tltat  respecteth  6*c. 

this  line  is  obscure,  and  the  variations  of  the  versions  show  that 
the  text  is  corrupt.  Probably  we  should  omit  the  word  "heart  " 
and  connect  "spirit  "  with  the  first  half  of  the  verse.  The  whole 
then  reads : 

'Tf  he  cause  to  return  to  himself  his  spirit, 
And  gather  to  himself  his  breath." 

The  conclusion  of  the  condition  is  in  the  next  verse.  The  passage 
is  a  reminiscence  of  Gen.  2  :  7. 

15.  All  flesh  shall  perish  together.  This  is  the  conclusion  to 
the  condition  in  the  previous  line.  The  philosophy  underlying 
the  whole  passage  is  that  man  has  no  right  to  criticise  God,  since 
he  is  dependent  upon  God  for  his  very  breath. 

(3)   Injustice  does  not  become  earthly  rulers,  much  less  God,  34  :  16-27 

16.  If  now  thou  hast  tinderstanding.  We  should  read  with 
the  versions,  "If  thou  understandest."  The  verse  is  probably 
an  editorial  gloss  added  after  the  combination  of  the  work  of  the 
two  interpolators,  for  it  is  addressed  to  Job,  whereas  the  rest  of 
the  chapter  is  addressed  to  the  friends  or  wise  men. 

17.  One  that  hateth  right  govern.  Elihu  curiously  begs  the 
question.  His  argument  is,  in  substance,  that  because  one  rules 
he  must  be  just.  God  is  the  almighty  Ruler,  therefore  he  can- 
not do  wrong.  Wilt  thou  condemn.  The  peculiar  text  of  the 
Greek  versions  suggests  that  originally  the  line  may  have  read, 
"Shall  he  that  is  just  and  mighty  do  wrong?  " 

18.  Is  it  fit  to  say  to  a  king.  According  to  the  text  the  mean- 
ing is,  "No  one  calls  an  earthly  ruler  vile  to  his  face,  how  much 
less  should  one  call  God  vile?  "     The  meaning  according  to  the 

263 


THE  BOOK   OF   JOB 


Or  to  nobles,  Ye  are  wicked  ? 

19.  How  much  less  to  him  that  respecteth  not  the 

persons  of  princes, 
Nor  regardeth  the  rich  more  than  the  poor  ? 
For  they  all  are  the  work  of  his  hands. 

20.  In  a  moment  they  die,  ^  even  at  midnight ; 
The  people  are  shaken  and  pass  away, 

And  the  mighty  are  taken  away  without  hand. 

21.  For  his  eyes  are  upon  ^  the  ways  of  a  man, 
And  he  seeth  all  his  goings. 

22.  There  is  no  darkness,  nor  shadow  of  death. 
Where  the  workers  of  iniquity  may  hide  them- 
selves. 

23.  For  he  needeth  not  further  to  consider  a  man, 
That  he  should  go  before  God  in  judgement. 

1  m.  Or,  and  at  midnight  the  people  &'c.  ^  Gr.  Eth.  the  works. 


versions  which  the  margin  follows  is,  "God,  the  just  and  mighty, 
is  the  one  who  calls  earthly  rulers  vile."  The  inference  is  that 
he  calls  them  this  because  he  is  more  just  than  they  and  has  the 
right  to  do  so, 

ig.  Nor  regardeth  the  rich  more  than  the  poor.  He  is  so  far 
above  all,  that  human  inequalities  are  as  nothing  before  him. 
The  words  continue  the  thought  of  the  preceding  verse,  which- 
ever alternative  of  the  interpretation  of  that  verse  we  choose. 

20.  In  a  moment  they  die.  God  who  stands  so  far  above 
princes  is  eternal,  but  they  perish.  The  people.  Several  scholars 
think  we  should  read  here  "the  rich."  It  would  fit  the  context 
better. 

21.  His  eyes  are  upon  the  ways.  This  statement  and  those 
following  in  vs.  22,  23  are  intended  to  show  that  the  judgments 
of  God  are  right  since  they  are  guided  by  complete  knowledge. 

23.  He  needeth  not  further  to  consider  a  man.  The  Hebrew 
thus  translated  is  very  unusual.  Several  scholars  have  suggested 
that  we  should  by  a  slight  change  read : 

"For  he  appointeth  no  set  time  for  a  man, 
That  he  should  go  before  God  in  judgment." 
264 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


24.  He  breaketh  in  pieces  mighty  men  ^  in  ways  past 

finding  out, 
And  setteth  others  in  their  stead. 

25.  Therefore  he  taketh  knowledge  of  their  works ; 
And  he  overturneth  them  in  the  night,  so  that 

they  are  ^  destroyed. 

26.  He  striketh  them  as  wicked  men 
^  In  the  open  sight  of  others ; 

27.  Because  they  turned  aside  from  following  him. 
And  would  not  have  regard  to  any  of  his  ways : 

28.  ^  So  that  they  caused  the  cry  of  the  poor  to  come 

unto  him, 
And  he  heard  the  cry  of  the  afflicted. 

1  m.  Or,  without  inquisition.  2  m.  Heb.  crushed.  3  ^n.  Heb.  In  the  place  of 

beholders.  *  m.  Or,  That  they  might  cause  .  .  .  and  that  he  might  hear. 

24.  In  ways  past  finding  out.  The  margin  "without  inquisi- 
tion ''  is  to  be  preferred.  The  meaning  is  that  God's  knowledge 
is  so  infallible  that  he  breaks  in  pieces  the  mighty  without  having 
to  give  them  a  trial,  to  ascertain  their  guilt. 

25.  Taketh  knowledge  of  their  works.  This  verse  is  a  weak 
repetition  of  vs.  20,  21.  It  interrupts  the  connection  where  it 
stands  and  is  probably  a  later  gloss. 

26.  He  striketh  them  as  wicked  men.  The  Hebrew  text  at 
this  point  has  been  somewhat  dislocated  by  the  insertion  of  v. 
25,  and  this  translation  is  hardly  defensible.  Many  recent  in- 
terpreters recognize  that  the  phrase  "  they  are  crushed  "  at  the  end 
of  V.  25  is  a  genuine  part  of  v.  26  and  completes  its  metre.  The 
omission  of  a  single  letter,  then,  gives  us  this  reading  for  the  verse  : 

"They  are  crushed  beneath  their  wickedness, 
He  strikes  them  in  the  place  of  beholders." 
This  connects  admirably  with  v.  24.      In  the  open  sight  of  others. 
Read  with  the  margin  "In  the  place  of  beholders." 

{4)  An  interpolation  —  a  fragment  of  a  poem  on  kings,  34:  28-33 
28.  Caused  the  cry  of  the  poor  to  come  vmto  him.  This  in- 
troduces a  new  thought,  and  one  inconsistent  with  the  argument  of 
most  of  the  chapter.  Internal  and  external  evidence  alike  unite 
to  show  that  vs.  28-33  are  an  interpolation.     They  were  omitted 

265 


29  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


29.  ^  When  he  giveth  quietness,  who  then  can  condemn  ? 
And  when  he  hideth  his  face,  who  then  can  behold 

him? 
Whether  it  be  done  unto  a  nation,  or  unto  a  man,  aHke : 

30.  That  the  godless  man  reign  not. 

That  there  be  none  to  ensnare  the  people. 

31.  ^  For  hath  any  said  unto  God, 

1 1  Heb.  MS.  Syr.  Ar.  When  he  is  quiet.  2  Theod.  Syr.  Targ.  Eth.  Ar.  For  he 

who  says.    Vulg.  Because,  then,  I  speak. 

from  the  Greek  version  till  the  time  of  Origen  and  are  still  omitted 
from  the  Sahidic  version.  They  introduce,  too,  the  thought  of 
national  oppression  from  a  great  king,  probably  either  Persian  or 
Greek,  a  subject  foreign  to  the  Book  of  Job.  The  thought  is 
resumed  in  a  few  verses  in  ch.  36,  which  are  omitted  by  the  same 
versions,  and  are,  like  these  verses,  fragments  of  a  poem  on  kings. 
For  a  reconstruction  of  the  poem,  see  note  on  36 :  13.  Elsewhere 
the  Book  of  Job  and  even  the  Elihu  speeches  deal  with  the  sins, 
the  righteousness,  and  the  fate  of  individuals  alone.  Probably 
the  interpolation  was  introduced  at  some  time  of  national  op- 
pression. It  is  particularly  inept  to  the  context  here,  where  it 
comes  in  between  Elihu's  description  of  the  way  that  God  destroys 
the  powerful,  and  his  conclusion  that  wise  men  must  consider 
Job  a  sinner. 

29.  When  he  giveth  quietness.  Read  with  the  authorities 
cited,  "When  he  is  quiet."  The  thought  is  that  when  the  far-off 
autocrat  chooses  to  be  quiet,  no  one  can  disturb  him,  however 
urgent  may  be  the  cause  which  one  desires  to  bring  before  him. 
Whether  it  be  done  unto  a  nation,  or  unto  a  man,  alike.  Trans- 
late rather,  "Whether  concerning  a  nation  or  a  man,  it  is  the 
same."  The  line  connects  directly  with  the  preceding.  One 
cannot  obtain  access  to  a  king,  if  the  king  wishes  to  be  quiet ; 
it  makes  no  difference  whether  one  has  the  cause  of  a  nation  or  an 
individual  to  plead. 

30.  That  the  godless  man  reign  not.  This  continues  the 
thought  of  V.  29.  The  man  who  wished  to  gain  an  audience  with 
the  supreme  autocrat  might  wish  to  make  request  concerning  his 
nation  that  the  godless  (or  ruthless?)  satrap  or  petty  king  who  was 
ruling  them  should  be  removed.  That  there  be  none  to  en- 
snare. Translate,  "That  he  should  not  ensnare."  The  phrase 
continues  the  thought  of  the  preceding  line. 

31.  For  hath  any  said  unto  God.     The  versions  quoted  above 

266 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


I  have  borne  chastisement,  ^  I  will  not  offend  any  more: 
2,2.    ^  That  which  I  see  not  teach  thou  me : 

If  I  have  done  iniquity,  I  will  do  it  no  more  ? 
T,2>'     Shall  his  recompence  be  as  thou  wilt,  that  thou  refusest 
it? 

For  thou  must  choose,  and  not  I : 

Therefore  speak  what  thou  knowest. 
34.     Men  of  understanding  will  say  unto  me, 

Yea,  every  wise  man  that  heareth  me : 

1  m.  Or,  though  I  of  end  not.  *  Vulg.  If  I  have  sinned. 

show  that  the  text  is  difficult  and  corrupt,  though  none  of  them 
offers  a  satisfactory  meaning.  Perhaps  with  some  modern  scholars 
we  should  read : 

"But  say  unto  God,  I  endure, 
I  will  not  again  commit  sin." 

This  is  advice  to  the  man  who  cannot  get  at  the  autocrat  to  obtain 
redress.  He  is  advised  to  regard  his  suffering  as  chastisement 
for  sin,  to  endure  it,  and  to  resolve  upon  reformation. 

32.  That  which  I  see  not.  Read  with  the  Vulgate,  "If  I  have 
sinned."  The  verse  continues  the  address  which  the  disap- 
pointed suppliant  of  the  king  is  advised  to  direct  to  God. 

33.  Shall  his  recompence  be  as  thou  wilt?  The  Hebrew  will 
not  really  bear  this  translation.  All  recent  interpreters  agree 
that  the  text  of  the  verse  is  corrupt.  Probably  we  should  change 
one  letter  of  the  original  and  read,  "According  to  thy  wish  shall 
he  recompense  him?  "  That  thou  refusest  it.  Translate  rather, 
"But  thou  refusest  it?  "  And  not  I.  Read  with  some  recent 
commentators,  "not  God."  The  whole  verse  should,  perhaps, 
run : 

"Shall  he  recompense  him  according  to  thy  wish? 
But  thou  refusest  it? 
Then  shouldst  thou  choose,  not  God? 
What  thou  knowest,  speak." 

Like  the  preceding  verses  it  is  addressed  to  the  rebellious  subject, 
who  cannot  obtain  from  his  sovereign  a  hearing  for  his  cause. 

(5)  Wise  men  must  condemn  Job  as  rebellious,  34:34-37 

34.  Every  wise  man.  This  verse  resumes  the  address  of  Elihu 
according  to   interpolator    B.      Between   it   and  v.    27,   35:  15, 

267 


THE   BOOK   OF  JOB 


35.  Job  speaketh  without  knowledge, 
And  his  words  are  without  wisdom. 

36.  ^  Would  that  Job  were  tried  unto  the  end, 

2  Because  of  his  answering  Hke  wicked  men. 

37.  For  he  addeth  rebellion  unto  his  sin. 
He  clappeth  his  hands  among  us, 
And  multiplieth  his  words  against  God. 

5.   Elihu's  Second  Address  to  Job,  Ch.  35 

35.         Moreover  Elihu  answered  and  said, 
2.     Thinkest  thou  this  to  be  thy  right, 

1  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  But  truly  Job  hath  been  instructed.  «  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth. 

That  we  should  not  add  to  our  sins. 

16  originally  stood.  See  notes  on  those  verses,  Elihu  thinks 
he  has  made  out  so  strong  a  case  that  every  intelligent  person 
must  concur  in  the  conclusion  which  he  is  about  to  state. 

35.  Speaketh  without  knowledge.  Job  has  been  blasphemous 
because  of  his  folly,  or  his  lack  of  insight. 

36.  Would  that  Job  were  tried  unto  the  end.  This  indicates 
a  vindictive  spirit  on  Elihu's  part  and  is  in  itself  hardly  intelli- 
gible. We  gain  a  clearer  thought  and  one  more  in  harmony  with 
v.  37,  if  we  read  on  the  basis  of  the  versions  quoted : 

"But  truly  Job  has  been  made  an  example, 
That  we  might  not  add  to  our  sins." 

37.  Addeth  rebellion.  This  was  the  point  in  which  Elihu, 
according  to  interpolator  B,  thought  that  wise  men  would  gain 
instruction  from  Job's  case  (see  note  on  v.  36) ;  Job  had  rebelled 
and  spoken  bitterly  —  had  added  blasphemy  to  his  original 
transgressions.  Wise  men  would  be  deterred  from  such  impiety, 
and  take  God's  corrections  reverently. 

(i)  God  is  impassible;   Job's  sins  cannot  harm,  nor  his  righteous- 
ness profit  God,  35  :  1-8 

1.  Moreover  Elihu  answered  and  said.  The  Hebrew  is 
simply,  "And  Elihu  answered  and  said."  Like  27:1;  29:1; 
and  34 :  i  the  verse  is  a  late  editorial  addition  and  should  be 
stricken  out.     It  interrupts  the  thought. 

2.  Thy  right.     The  word  "thy"  is  not  in  the  Hebrew  and 

268 


THE   BOOK   OF  JOB 


Or  sayest  thou,  ^  My  righteousness  is  more  than  God's, 

3.  That  thou  sayest.  What  advantage  will  it  be  unto 

thee? 
And,  What  profit  shall  I  have,  more  than  if  I  had 
sinned  ? 

4.  I  will  answer  thee, 

And  thy  ^  companions  with  thee. 

5.  Look  unto  the  heavens,  and  see ; 

And  behold  the  skies,  which  are  higher  than  thou, 

1  Gr.  Syr.  Vulg.  Targ.  Sah.  Eth.  Ar.  /  am  more  righteous.  2  Qr.  Sah.  Eth.  three 

friends. 

should   be   omitted.     My   righteousness   is   more   than   God's. 

Read  with  the  versions,  "I  am  more  righteous  than  God."  If 
our  analysis  is  correct,  this  verse  resumes  the  work  of  interpolator 
A  and  connects  directly  with  ^3  '■  33-  Ch.  33  :  31-33  formed  the 
introduction  to  a  second  address  of  Elihu  to  Job,  and  this  verse 
(35  :  2)  begins  that  address.  In  his  first  address  to  Job  Elihu 
had  recounted  Job's  assertions  of  innocence  and  of  God's  unjust 
treatment  of  him  (33  :  9-12),  Here  Elihu  claims  that  that  is  in 
reality  claiming  a  greater  righteousness  than  God's  on  the  ground 
that  to  criticise  the  morality  of  the  act  of  another  is  to  assert 
the  possession  of  greater  moral  insight  than  that  other. 

3.  Advantage  .  .  .  unto  thee.  As  others  have  noted,  we 
should  read,  "What  advantage  will  it  be  unto  me?  "  The  next 
line  shows  that  this  is  the  thought.  Profit  .  .  .  more  than  if 
I  had  sinned?  Such  a  question  in  Elihu's  mind  logically  fol- 
lowed from  Job's  utterances.  If  rewards  for  righteousness  con- 
sist of  worldly  prosperity,  and  if  God  punishes  the  righteous  with 
worldly  disaster,  there  seems  to  be  no  advantage  in  righteousness. 

4.  Companions.  The  Hebrew  word  is  the  same  as  that  trans- 
slated  "friends  "  in  2:  11  ff.  Some  have  supposed  that  it  can- 
not refer  to  the  "three  friends,"  because  Elihu's  argument  is 
much  the  same  as  theirs.  Such  scholars  understand  the  words 
to  refer  to  people  of  Job's  way  of  thinking.  An  interpolator 
would,  however,  be  likely  to  condemn  the  whole  book  and  all  the 
characters  in  it,  and  it  is  quite  in  accord  with  ancient  literary 
methods  to  do  this,  even  while  borrowing  from  the  speeches  of  the 
friends.  The  versions  quoted  above  clearly  took  it  to  refer  to 
the  "friends  "  who  appear  throughout  the  book. 

5.  Higher  than  thou.     An  echo  of  11 :  7-9  and  22  :  12. 

269 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


6.  If  thou  hast  sinned,  what  doest  thou  against  him  ? 
And   if  thy  transgressions  be  multiplied,  what 

doest  thou  unto  him  ? 

7.  If  thou  be  righteous,  what  givest  thou  him  ? 
Or  what  receiveth  he  of  thine  hand  ? 

8.  Thy  wickedness  may  hurt  a  man  as  thou  art ; 
And  thy  righteousness  may  profit  a  son  of  man. 

9.  By  reason  of  the  multitude  of  ^  oppressions  they 

cry  out ; 
They  cry  for  help  by  reason  of  the  arm  of  the 
mighty. 

10.  But  2  none  saith.  Where  is  God  ^  my  Maker, 
Who  giveth  songs  in  the  night ; 

11.  Who  ^  teacheth  us  more  than  the  beasts  of  the 

earth, 

1  I  Heb.  MS.  Sym.  Syr.  Vulg.  Targ.  Ar.  oppressors.  *  Syr.  Ar.  they  do  not  say. 

•  Syr.  At.  our.  *  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  separates  us. 

6.  What  doest  thou  against  him  ?  Vs.  6-8  borrow  the  thought 
of  Eliphaz  in  22:2,  3.  Job  had  first  suggested  the  thought  in 
7  :  20. 

8.  A  man  as  thou  art.  Elihu  denies  that  we  can  properly 
reason  from  man  to  God,  at  least  in  so  far  as  the  problem  under 
consideration  is  concerned. 

(2)    Men,  when  oppressed,  do  not  cry  unto  God  in  the  right  way : 
they  cry  from  pride,  not  for  comfort,  35  :  9-12 

9.  Oppressions.  Read  with  the  authorities  cited,  "oppres- 
sors." Cry  for  help.  The  connection  of  this  section  with  the 
preceding  is  not  very  close,  but  Elihu  seems  to  be  taking  up  the 
point  that  might  naturally  be  raised  against  him,  "If  God's  rule 
is  righteous,  why  does  the  cry  of  the  oppressed  continually  go 
up  from  earth?  " 

10.  None  saith.  Read  with  the  versions  cited,  "They  do  not 
say."  My  Maker.  Read  with  the  versions,  "our  Maker." 
"Who  giveth  songs  in  the  night.  If  they  sought  for  this  religious 
comfort,  Elihu  implies  that  they  would  obtain  it. 

11.  Teacheth  us  more  than  the  beasts  of  the  field.  He  gives 
us  more  knowledge  than  he  gives  them.     This  in  Elihu's  view 

270 


THE   BOOK   OF   JOB 


And  maketh  us  wiser  than  the  fowls  of  heaven  ? 

12.  There  they  cry,  ^  but  none  giveth  answer, 
Because  of  the  pride  of  evil  men. 

13.  Surely  God  will  not  hear  vanity, 
Neither  will  the  Almighty  regard  it. 

14.  How  much  less  when  thou  say  est  ^  thou  beholdest 

him  not, 
The  cause  is  before  him,  and  ^  thou  waitest  for 
him ! 

15.  But  now,  because  he  hath  not  visited  in  his  anger, 

1  m.  Or,  but  he  answereth  not.  *  m.  Or,  thou  beholdest  him  not!     The  cause  is 

before  him;  therefore  wait  thou  for  him.  ^  Syr.  Ai.  supplicate  thou  him.     Theod. 

Sym.  Sah.  Targ.  Eth.  is  not  visiting. 

should  be  a  cause  for  thankfulness.     The  author  of  Job   had 
claimed  in  12:  7,  8  that  animals  could  teach  men. 

12.  But  none  giveth  answer.  Read  with  the  margin,  "He 
does  not  answer,"  i.e.  God  doth  not  answer.  Because  of  the 
pride  of  evil  men.  This  is  frequently  taken  to  mean  that  the 
poor  cry  because  of  the  pride  of  evil  men.  On  this  interpretation 
the  line  repeats  the  thought  of  v.  9  and  is  pointless.  On  this 
view  Elihu  says  they  cry  on  account  of  oppressions,  but  God  does 
not  answer  because  their  cry  is  on  account  of  oppressions.  A 
much  clearer  thought  is  obtained  if  we  translate,  by  dropping  a 
single  letter,  "Because  of  the  pride  of  their  evil  "  —  a  Hebrew 
idiom  for  "their  evil  pride."  This  makes  Elihu  give  as  the  in- 
telligible reason  why  God  is  silent,  that  they  do  not  ask  for  real 
religious  comfort,  but  because  of  the  pride  of  their  own  evil  hearts. 

(3)    God  heeds  not  such  cries,  therefore  Job  rages,  35  :  13-16 

13.  Vanity.  The  cry  of  pride  is  said  to  be  vanity;  therefore 
God  hears  it  not. 

14.  Less  when  thou  sayest  thou  beholdest  him  not.  The 
text  is  here  preferable  to  the  rendering  of  the  margin.  The 
meaning  is.  If  God  will  not  answer  the  cry  of  vanity,  how  much 
less  will  he  answer  the  cry  of  thy  impatient  blindness.  Thou 
waitest.  With  the  versions  cited  we  should  take  the  verb  as 
an  imperative,  rendering,  "Wait  thou  for  him."  Elihu  urges 
Job  not  to  be  impatient.  His  cause  is  before  God ;  Job  should 
await  God's  answer. 

15.  Because  he  hath  not   visited.     Read   with  the  versions 

271 


THE   BOOK   OF  JOB 


1  Neither  doth  he  greatly  regard  ^  arrogance ; 
1 6.  Therefore  doth  Job  open  his  mouth  in  vanity ; 

He  ^  multiplieth  words  without  knowledge. 

6.   Elihu's  Third  Address  to  Job,  Chs.  36,  37 

36.  Elihu  also  proceeded,  and  said, 

2.  ^  Suffer  me  a  Httle,  and  I  will  shew  thee ; 

For  ^  I  have  yet  somewhat  to  say  on  ®  God's 
behalf. 


1  m.  Or,  Thou  sayest,  He  dolh  not  greatly  regard  arrogance.  Thus  doth  &*c.  *  Theod. 
Sym.  Vulg.  Eth.  transgression.  ^  Theod.  Sym.  Eth.  makes  heavy.  *  in.  Heb.  Wait  for. 
*  m.  there  are  yet  words  for  God.        *  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  speech  is  yet  in  me. 

cited,  "He  is  not  visiting."  Even  on  this  reading  Elihu  is  not 
quite  true  to  facts.  In  reality  the  verse  belongs  after  34  :  27,  where 
the  reference  is  to  the  wicked  in  general,  not  to  Job  in  particular, 
and  there  the  words  are  true.  Neither  doth  he  greatly  regard. 
It  is  better  not  to  supply  ''Thou  sayest  "  as  the  margin  does. 
The  words  are  not  in  the  Hebrew.  Arrogance.  Read  with  the 
versions  cited  above,  ''transgressions." 

16.  Therefore.  Connects  this  verse  closely  with  v.  15. 
Doth  Job  open  his  mouth.  Job  is  here  spoken  of  in  the  third 
person  as  in  ch,  34.  The  exhortation  to  Elihu  had  reached  its 
climax  and  logical  conclusion  in  v.  14.  Vs.  15,  16  probably 
belong  in  ch.  34  after  v.  27  and  before  v.  34.  They  were 
probably  displaced  at  that  point  by  the  later  interpolation  of 
34:  28-33. 

(i)    God  is  mighty,  but  despises  none,  36:  1-12  [genuine  parts] 

1.  Elihu  also  proceeded  and  said.  These  words,  like  27:  i; 
29  :  I ;  34  :  I  ;  35:1  are  an  editorial  addition  which  interrupt  the 
thought.  In  estimating  the  true  character  of  the  Elihu  discourses 
they  should  be  disregarded. 

2.  Sufifer  me  a  little.  These  words  connect  directly  with  35  : 
14.  Having  finished  the  treatment  of  one  phase  of  his  thought 
with  an  exhortation,  Elihu  passes  to  his  third  address  by  a  gentle 
transition.  Yet  somewhat  to  say  on  God's  behalf.  The  margin, 
"Yet  words  for  God,"  gives  the  literal  rendering,  but  the  text 
gives  the  thought.  This  statement  fits  well  what  follows,  and 
is  to  be  preferred  to  the  reading  of  the  Greek  and  kindred  versions, 
which  would  simply  mean,  "I  have  more  to  say." 

272 


THE   BOOK   OF   JOB  36 


3.  I  will  fetch  my  knowledge  from  afar, 

And  will  ascribe  righteousness  to  my  Maker. 

4.  For  truly  my  words  are  not  false : 

One  that  is  perfect  in  knowledge  is  with  thee. 

5.  Behold,  God  is  mighty,  and  despiseth  not  any : 
He  is  mighty  in  strength  of  ^  understanding. 

6.  ^  He  preserveth  not  the  life  of  the  wicked : 
^  But  giveth  to  the  afflicted  their  right. 

7.  ^  He  withdraweth  not  his  eyes  from  the  righteous: 


1  m.  Heb.  heart.  2  Gr.  Sah.  place  this  line  after  v.  loa.  ^  Gr.  Sah.  read 

this  line  as  a  part  of  v.  15.  ^  Gr.  Sah.  read  this  line  just  before  v.  18. 


3.  From  afar.  The  context  shows  that  this  means  "from  all 
God's  known  works."  Elihu  will  ascribe  righteousness  to  God 
by  a  comprehensive  survey  of  God's  works. 

4.  One  .  .  .  perfect  in  knowledge.  This  is  extravagant  self- 
praise,  and,  like  all  such  self-praise,  is  belied  by  the  speaker's 
utterances. 

5.  Behold,  God  is  mighty.  The  words  which  follow  this  are 
in  the  Hebrew  strange  and  awkward.  Scholars  have  suggested 
various  expedients  to  relieve  the  situation.  The  most  satisfac- 
tory is  that  suggested  by  Dr.  Nichols,  viz.  that  "strength  "  be 
transposed  so  as  to  stand  immediately  after  "mighty,"  and  that 
by  dropping  two  letters  from  "mighty"  in  the  second  line  we 
obtain  the  word  "pure."     The  verse  then  reads: 

"Behold,  God  is  mighty  in  strength, 
He  despiseth  not  the  pure  in  heart." 

6.  He  preserveth  not  the  life  of  the  wicked.  From  this  point 
onward  to  v.  18  the  Greek  and  Sahidic  versions  presented  a 
much  shorter  and  better  text  (see  Introduction,  p.  20  ff).  Elihu's 
argument  becomes  much  clearer,  if  we  reconstruct  the  text  on 
the  basis  of  these  authorities  and  eliminate  an  interpolation  still 
later  than  the  Elihu  writer.  This  first  line  of  v.  6  should  come 
after  v.  loa  (see  note  on  v.  10).  But  giveth  to  the  afflicted 
their  right.  The  same  versions  found  this  line  in  v.  15  ;  we 
should  probably  place  it  after  that  verse.  For  a  reconstruction 
of  the  Elihu  speech  from  vs.  6-18,  see  note  on  v.  18. 

7.  He  withdraweth  not  his  eyes  from  the  righteous.  With  a 
slight  change  the  Greek  and  Sahidic  read  this  as  v,  17,  where  we 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


^  But  with  kings  upon  the  throne 

He  setteth  them  for  ever,  and  they  are  exalted. 

8.  And  if  they  be  bound  in  fetters, 

And  be  taken  in  the  cords  of  affliction ; 

9.  Then  he  sheweth  them  their  work, 

And  their  transgressions,  that  they  have  behaved 
themselves  proudly. 

10.  ^  He  openeth  also  their  ear  to  instruction, 

^  And  commandeth  that  they  return  from  iniquity. 

11.  If  they  hearken  and  serve  him, 

They  shall  spend  their  days  in  prosperity, 
And  their  years  in  ^  pleasures. 

12.  ^  But  if  they  hearken  not,  they  shall  perish  by  ®  the 

sword, 

1  Gr.  Sab.  omit  from  this  point  through  v.  9.  2  Gr.  Sah.  read  this  after  v.  5. 

s  Gr.  Sah.  omit  lob,  11.  ^  m.  Or,  pleasantness.  ^  Gr.  Sah.  have  an  entirely 

different  verse  here  as  follows:  For  they  seek  not  the  knowledge  of  God,  and  when 
hastened,  they  hearken  not.  ^  Syr.  Abaddon,     ra.  Ot,  weapons. 

should  place  it.  See  note  on  v.  18.  But  with  kings  upon  the 
throne.  These  words  introduce  a  new  subject  —  that  of  the  rule 
of  unjust  kings.  The  line  with  vs.  8,  9  are  lacking  in  the  Greek 
and  Sahidic.  They  are  a  part  of  the  interpolation  on  kings. 
For  a  reconstruction  of  the  whole  interpolation  see  note  on  v.  13. 

8.  If  they  be  bound  in  fetters.  This  refers  to  the  kings.  It  is  a 
part  of  the  interpolation.  See  note  on  v.  13,  It  probably  should 
follow  34:  33,  to  tell  how  God  does  actually  punish  a  king, 

9.  He  sheweth.  The  verse  is  part  of  the  same  interpolation. 
For  its  connection,  see  note  on  v,  13. 

10.  He  openeth  their  ear  to  instruction.  Translate  rather, 
*'  Through  chastening  he  openeth  their  ear."  The  Greek  and  Sahidic 
versions  read  this  immediately  after  v.  5,  which  it  naturally  follows. 
They  followed  the  line  by  v.  6a,  "But  he  granteth  not  life  to  the 
wicked."  This  couplet  is  a  part  of  the  Elihu  speech.  See  note  on  v. 
18.  And  commandeth  that  they  return  from  iniquity.  The  versions 
quoted  show  that  this  is  a  part  of  the  interpolation  concerning 
kings.     It  followed  in  its  original  setting  9b  ;  see  note  on  v.  13, 

11.  If  they  hearken.  This  verse  continues  the  thought  of  v.  lob; 
see  note  on  v.  13.  Pleasures.  Read  with  the  margin,  "pleasantness." 

12.  But  if  they  hearken  not.     This  is  a  part  of  the  inserted 

274 


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And  they  shall  die  without  knowledge. 
13.  1  But  they  that  are  godless  in  heart  lay  up  anger : 

They  cry  not  for  help  when  he  bindeth  them. 


1  Gr.  Sah.  omit  v.  13. 


poem  on  kings,  connecting  with  v,  11.  See  note  on  v.  13.  As 
noted  above,  the  Greek  and  Sahidic  versions  had  a  different  verse 
here  and  one  which  belongs  to  the  Elihu  speech.  See  the  re- 
construction in  note  on  v.  18.  By  the  sword.  The  Syriac  ver- 
sion reads  "Abaddon,"  suggesting  that  we  should  read  "in  Sheol  " 
instead  of  "by  the  sword." 

(2)    A  warning  against  sin,  36 :  13-21  [genuine  parts] 

13.  But  they  that  are  godless.  Translate  rather,  "For  the 
godless."  The  verse  is  omitted  by  the  Greek  and  Sahidic  ver- 
sions, and  forms  the  conclusion  to  the  inserted  poem  on  kings. 
If  the  verses  about  kings  in  this  chapter  and  34 :  28-33  were 
taken  from  the  same  poem,  the  poem  might,  perhaps,  be  re- 
constructed as  follows : 

36  :  7bc.  "  But  kings  upon  the  throne  — 

Forever  he  setteth  them  and  they  are  exalted. 

34 :  28.       One  brings  to  him  the  cry  of  the  weak. 
The  cry  of  the  poor  he  hears. 

29.  When  he  is  quiet,  who  may  condemn? 
When  he  hides  his  face,  who  can  behold  him? 
Whether  concerning  a  nation  or  a  man  it  is  the  same ; 

30.  That  the  godless  man  should  not  reign, 
Should  not  ensnare  the  people. 

31.  But  say  unto  God,  I  endure, 
I  will  not  again  commit  sin. 

32.  If  I  have  sinned,  teach  thou  me. 

If  I  have  done  wrong,  I  will  not  repeat  it. 

33.  Shall  he  recompense  him  according  to  thy  wish? 
But  thou  refusest  it? 

Then  shouldst  thou  choose  not  God? 
What  thou  knowest,  speak. 
36 :  8.         But  if  they  be  bound  in  fetters, 

And  taken  in  the  cords  of  affliction ; 
9.         Then  he  phoweth  them  their  work 

And    their    transgressions,    how    they    have    puffed 
themselves  up, 
lob.     And  commandeth  that  they  turn  from  iniquity. 
275 


THE   BOOK   OF   JOB 


14.  ^  They  die  in  youth, 

And  their  life  perisheth  ^  among  the  ^  unclean. 

15.  He  delivereth  the  afflicted  ^  by  his  affliction, 
And  openeth  ^  their  ear  ^  in  oppression. 

16.  Yea,  he  would  ^  have  led  thee  away  ^  out  of  distress 

1  m.  Heb.  Their  soul  dieth.  '^Ta.xg.  like.     m.  Or,  like.  ^  m.  Or,  sodomites. 

See  Deut.  23 :  17.  *  m.  Or,  in.  ^  Vulg.  his.  ^  m.  Or,  by  adversity.  ^  Theod.  Syr. 
Vulg.  Targ.  Ar.  lead  thee  out.     m.  Or,  allured  thee.        ^  m.  Heb.  out  of  the  mouth  of. 

36  :  II.       If  they  hearken  and  serve  him, 

They  shall  finish  their  days  in  prosperity, 
And  their  years  in  pleasantness. 

12.  But  if  not,  they  pass  to  Sheol, 
And  perish  without  knowledge. 

13.  For  the  godless  of  heart  lay  up  anger, 
They  cry  not  when  he  binds  them." 

One  objection  to  such  a  reconstruction  of  the  poem  is  that  the 
verses  from  ch.  34  presuppose  but  one  king,  while  those  from  ch. 
36  think  of  kings  in  general.  It  is  possible,  however,  that  a  poet 
might  pass  to  the  singular,  to  vividly  illustrate  by  a  definite  in- 
stance the  ways  of  kings  and  to  exhort  an  aggrieved  subject,  and 
then  return  again  to  the  general  theme,  to  show  how  in  the  end 
God  brings  the  kings  themselves  to  justice.  Such  a  method 
would  in  reality  reenforce  the  exhortation  to  the  aggrieved  sub- 
ject, by  helping  him  to  see  that  "judgment  belongeth  unto  God." 
Whether  these  verses  ever  formed  one  connected  poem  must  be 
left  an  open  question,  though  it  seems  probable  to  the  writer  that 
they  did. 

14.  They  die  in  youth.  Read  with  the  margin.  "Their  soul 
perishes  in  youth."  This  verse  continues  the  Elihu  speech.  For  its 
place  in  the  address,  see  the  reconstruction  in  note  on  v.  18.  Un- 
clean. Margin,  "  sodomites."  The  word  means  consecrated  ones 
and  designated  in  the  Semitic  world  those  who  were  dedicated  to  the 
service  of  social  impurity  in  a  temple. 

15.  He  delivereth.  The  verse  continues  the  thought  of  v.  14 
and  is  part  of  the  Elihu  speech.  By  his  affliction.  This  gives 
the  meaning.  The  marginal  reading,  while  possible  from  the 
Hebrew,  is  ruled  out  by  the  context.  Their  ear.  Read  with  the 
Vulgate,  *'his  ear."  In  oppression.  Read  with  the  margin, 
"by  adversity."  Elihu  is  discoursing  on  the  redemptive  power  of 
misfortune   and   suffering. 

16.  Led  thee  away.     The  Hebrew  is  accurately  represented  by 

276 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


Into  a  broad  place,  where  there  is  no  straitness ; 
And  that  which  is  set  on  thy  table  should  be  full 
of  fatness. 

1 7.  But  thou  ^  art  full  of  the  judgement  of  the  wicked : 
Judgement  and  justice  take  hold  on  thee. 

18.  2  ;Because    there  is  wrath,  beware  lest  thou  be 

2  led  away  by  thy  sufficiency ; 
Neither  let  the  greatness  of  the  ransom  turn  thee 
aside. 


1  m.  Or,  hast  filled  up.  2  Gr.  Syr.  Vulg.  Sah.  Eth.  Ar.  omit  Because,    m.  Or, 

For  beware  lest  wrath  lead  thee  away  into  mockery.  ^  m.  Or,  allured. 

the  marginal  reading  "allured."     The  versions  read  "lead  out,'* 
which  is  much  like  the  text  of  RV  and  which  we  should  follow. 

This  verse  is  omitted  by  the  primitive  Greek,  and  the  Sahidic 
version.  Instead  of  it  they  had  with  slight  changes  6b  and  7a 
of  our  present  Hebrew  text,  which  fit  in  here  admirably  (see  the 
reconstruction  in  the  note  on  v.  18).  Verse  16  is  probably  a  gloss, 
inserted  after  the  poem  on  kings  was  woven  in,  to  make  the 
application  to  Job  clear  at  this  point.  It  is  based  on  6b  and  7a, 
but  gives  the  thought  a  slightly  different  turn. 

17.  Thou  art  fiill  of.  This  verse  was  omitted  by  the  Greek 
and  Sahidic  versions.  It  is  a  part  of  the  same  gloss  as  v.  16, 
and  like  it  is  an  address  to  Job.  When  this  is  recognized  one  must 
interpret  it  with  the  text  of  RV  and  discard  the  marginal  reading, 

18.  Because  there  is  wrath.  With  the  versions  cited  the 
v/ord  "because  "  should  be  omitted.  By  another  slight  change 
in  the  text  we  should  read,  "Let  not  wrath  seduce  thee  in  chastise- 
ment." The  greatness  of  the  ransom.  The  greatness  of  the 
suffering  by  which  the  penitence  of  the  soul  has  been  wrought. 

This  verse  is  a  part  of  the  Elihu  address.  That  address  from^  v. 
5  to  the  present  point,  after  the  interpolations  are  omitted  to  which 
the  ancient  versions  bear  witness,  and  the  rearrangement  made 
which  those  versions  call  for,  is  as  follows: 

36 :  5.  "Behold  God  is  mighty  in  strength, 
He  despiseth  not  the  pure  in  heart.  ^ 
loa.     Through  chastening  he  openeth  their  ear, 
6a.     But  giveth  not  life  to  the  wicked; 
Greek  vs.  12.     For  they  seek  not  the  knowledge  of  God, 
And  by  admonition  learn  not. 
277 


THE   BOOK  OF  JOB 


19.  ^  Will  thy  2  riches  suffice,  ^  that  thou  he  not  in  distress, 
Or  all  the  forces  of  thy  strength  ? 

20.  ■*  Desire  not  the  right, 

When  peoples  ^  are  cut  off  in  their  place. 

21.  Take  heed,  regard  not  iniquity : 

For  this  hast  thou  chosen  rather  than  affliction. 

22.  Behold,  God  doeth  loftily  in  his  power : 

1  m.  Or  Will  thy  cry  avail.  2  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  prayer.  a  m.  Or,  that 

are  without  stint.  ^  Gr.  Sah.  omit  v.  20.  ^  m.  Heb.  go  up. 

36  :  14.     Their  soul  perishes  in  youth, 

And  their  Hfe,  with  the  unclean. 
15.     He  deUvereth  the  afflicted  by  his  affliction, 

And  openeth  his  ear  by  oppression. 
6b.     Judgment  to  the  afflicted  he  giveth, 
7a.     He  withdraweth  not  his  eyes  from  the  righteous. 
18.     Let  not  wrath  seduce  thee  in  chastisement, 

Nor  greatness  of  ransom  turn  thee  aside." 

By  this  arrangement  the  clearness  of  thought  is  greatly  improved. 

19.  Will  thy  riches  suffice.  The  present  text  is  difficult,  and 
out  of  harmony  with  the  context.  By  a  slight  change  in  one  of 
the  Hebrew  letters  the  reading  would  be : 

"Can  he  order  thy  salvation  without  distress?  " 

Such  a  reading  continues  the  thought  of  v.  18  admirably,  and 
should  be  adopted.  Thy  strength.  The  word  *'  thy,"  which  is 
not  in  the  Hebrew,  should  be  omitted.  The  line  continues  the 
question  of  the  previous  line,  and  "strength  "  is  parallel  to 
"distress." 

20.  Desire  not  the  right.  The  primitive  Greek  version  sup- 
ported by  the  Sahidic  omits  this  verse.  It  interrupts  the  connec- 
tion here  and  is  probably  a  gloss.  The  thought  of  v.  19  is  con- 
tinued in  V.  21. 

21.  Regard  not  iniquity.  An  exhortation  based  on  vs.  18,  19, 
and  the  preceding  argument.  This.  Read  instead  with  many 
scholars,   "iniquity." 

(3)    God  is  too  great  to  he  criticised,  36 :  22-33  [genuine  parts] 

22.  Doeth  loftily.  Elihu  begins  here  to  set  forth  the  ex- 
altation and  majesty  of  God,  a  theme  which  he  pursues  to  the  end 
of  his  address. 

278 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


Who  is  ^  a  teacher  Hke  unto  him  ? 

23.  Who  hath  enjoined  him  ^  his  way  ? 

Or  who  can  say,  Thou  hast  wrought  unrighteous- 
ness? 

24.  Remember  that  thou  magnify  his  work, 
Whereof  men  have  sung. 

25.  All  men  have  looked  thereon ; 
Man  beholdeth  it  afar  off. 

26.  ^  Behold,  God  is  great,  and  we  know  him  not ; 
The  number  of  his  years  is  unsearchable. 

27.  For  he  draweth  up  the  drops  of  water, 
Which  *  distil  in  rain  ^  from  ^  his  vapour : 

^Gr.alord.  ^  Gt.  Sa.h.  Eth.  his  work.  «  Gr.  Sah.  omit  vs.  26,  27b,  28a. 

*  Theod.  Targ.  Eth.  they  are  poured  out.     Vulg.  he  pours  out.         ^  m.  Heb.  belonging 
to.  6  m.  Or,  the  vapour  thereof. 

23.  Who  can  say?  Elihu  believes  none  has  a  right  to  criticise 
God, , because  no  one  is  above  him. 

24.  Thou  magnify.  It  is  the  duty  of  man  to  praise,  rather 
than  to  find  fault.  Men  have  sung.  The  chorus  of  praise  was 
already  well  begun  by  the  poets  in  Elihu's  time. 

25.  Afar  off.  The  works  of  God  are  so  obvious  that  all  have 
seen  them;    so  great  that  they  are  visible  from  afar. 

26.  Behold,  God  is  great.  The  underlying  thought  of  this  verse 
is  the  same  as  that  of  v.  22.  Some  scholars  have  on  that  ac- 
count omitted  it.  In  reality  it  is  the  beginning  of  a  series  of  in- 
sertions of  fragments  of  a  poem  on  a  thunder-storm  —  insertions 
which  the  primitive  Greek  version,  supported  by  the  Sahidic, 
omits ;  see  Introduction,  p.  20.  This  poem  was  interwoven  with 
the  Elihu  speech  because,  like  it,  it  magnified  the  work  of  God. 
When  this  poem  is  omitted  the  original  address  of  Elihu  gains  in 
clearness  and  the  poem  itself  resembles  a  psalm.  For  a  recon- 
struction of   the  poem,  see  note  on   37  :  13. 

27.  For  he  draweth  up  the  drops  of  water.  Rather,  "For  he 
restraineth."  The  Greek  and  Sahidic  show  that  this  is  a  part  of 
Elihu's  address,  and  that  the  concluding  line  of  the  couplet  now 
forms  the  second  line  of  v.  28.  Which  distil  in  rain.  We  should 
read  with  the  Vulgate,  "  Which  he  pours  out  as  rain."  The  Greek 
and  Sahidic  omit  this  line.  It  is  part  of  the  inserted  poem  of 
the  rain-storm.     For  its  place  in  that  poem  see  note  on  37:  13. 

279 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


28.  Which  the  skies  pour  down 

^  And  drop  upon  man  abundantly. 

29.  2  Yea,  ^  can  any  understand  the  spreadings  of  the 

clouds, 
The  thunderings  of  his  pavilion  ? 

30.  Behold,  he  spreadeth  his  Hght  ^  around  him ; 
And  he  ^  covereth  the  bottom  of  the  sea. 

31.  For  by  these  he  judgeth  the  peoples ; 

1  Gr.  'Sah.  Eth.    And  a  cloud  overshadows  numberless  men.  2  Gr.  Sah.   omit 

vs.  29-32.  3  Syr.  At.  And  who.     Theod.  Sym.  Eth.  the  equality.  *  m.  Or, 

thereon.  ^  m.  Or,  covereth  it  with  the  depths  oj  the  sea. 

28.  Which  the  skies  pour  down.  Translate  rather  ''drop 
down"  or  "distil."  By  their  omission  of  this  line  the  same 
versions  testify  that  it  is  a  part  of  the  rain-storm  poem.  With 
V.  27b  it  makes  a  complete  parallelism.  See  note  on  37  :  13. 
And  drop  upon  man  abundantly.  The  versions  cited  show  that 
this  line  was  a  part  of  EHhu's  address  and  that  it  originally  ran, 
"And  a  cloud  o'ershadows  many  men."  As  the  line  completes 
the  parallelism  beginning  with  27a  that  reading  must  be  adopted. 
The  change  to  the  present  reading  was  made  to  harmonize  the 
line  with  28a.     The  couplet  restored  is : 

27a.    "He  restraineth  the  drops  of  water ; 
28b.      His  cloud  o'ershadows  many  men." 

29.  Yea,  can  any  understand.  Read  with  the  versions  cited, 
"And  who  can  understand."  The  omission  of  vs.  29-32  by  the 
Greek  and  Sahidic  shows  that  they  are  a  part  of  the  poem  on  the 
rain-storm;   see  note  on  37  :  13  for  their  place  in  it. 

30.  Around  him.  Read  with  the  margin,  "thereon  "  or  "upon 
it."  The  reference  is  to  the  "clouds"  of  v.  29.  Bottom  of^  the 
sea.  This  is  impossible.  The  bottom  of  the  sea,  as  the  margin  of 
RV  recognizes,  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  thunder-cloud.  We 
should  probably,  as  Duhm  has  suggested,  make  a  slight  change 
in  the  Hebrew  and  read,  "  He  covereth  the  tops  of  the  mountains." 

31.  Judgeth  the  peoples.  As  the  text  stands  the  verse  is  an 
antithetic  parallelism,  the  first  line  stating  that  by  storms  God 
sends  judgments,  and  the  second  that  the  rains  are  the  means 
of  food  supply.  It  is,  perhaps,  better  to  change  with  some 
scholars  a  single  letter  of  the  Hebrew  and  read : 

"For  by  these  he  fills  peoples, 
He  gives  food  in  abundance." 
280 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


He  giveth  meat  in  abundance. 

32.  He  covereth  his  hands  with  the  ^  lightning ; 
And  giveth  it  a  charge  ^  that  it  strike  the  mark. 

33.  3  The  noise  thereof  telle th  concerning  ^  him, 

The  cattle  also  concerning  ^  the  storm  that  cometh  up. 
37.       At  this  also  my  heart  tremble  th, 
And  is  moved  out  of  its  place. 
2.      ^  Hearken  ^  ye  unto  the  noise  of  his  voice, 

1  m.  Heb.  light.  2  m.  Or,  against  the  assailant.  3  Gr.  Sah.  had  for  v.  33, 

He  appointeth  a  time  for  cattle;  they  know  the  place  of  their  lying  dornn.  *  m.  Or,  it. 
B  m.  Or,  him.  «  Gr.  Sah.  omit  vs.  2-5a.  ^  Theod.  Syr.  Eth.  thou. 

Reference  to  the  more  terrible  aspects  of  the  storm  would  then 
begin  in  v.   32.  * 

32.  He  covereth  his  hands  with  the  lightning.  A  very  vivid 
figure ;  God  wraps  the  lightning  about  his  hands  that  he  may 
hurl  it  with  sure  aim.  Strike  the  mark.  Read  as  the  text  does, 
ignoring  the  margin.  Shooting  at  a  target  was  a  worthy  sport 
for  an  Egyptian  prince  (afterward  Thothmes  IV)  in  the  fifteenth 
century  B.C.     From  such  sport  the  figure  is  taken. 

33.  The  noise  thereof  .  .  .  the  cattle.  The  two  parts  of  this 
verse  are  incongruous,  and  no  satisfactory  interpretation  of  it 
as  it  stands  has  been  suggested.  The  primitive  Greek  and  Sahidic 
versions  read  it  in  quite  a  different  form  after  v.  28b,  thus : 

"  He  appointeth  a  time  for  cattle, 
They  know  the  place  of  their  lying  down." 

The  present  corruption  of  the  verse  was,  no  doubt,  brought 
about  in  order  to  bring  it  into  harmony  with  the  insertion  from 
the  rain-storm  poem.  For  its  original  connection,  see  note  on 
37:  12. 

(4)    Elihu  trembles  at  the  thought  of  God's  greatness,  37  :  1-13 
[genuine  parts] 

1.  At  this  also  my  heart  trembleth.  This  verse  belongs  to  the 
speech  of  Elihu.  Before  the  interpolation  of  the  poem  on  the 
thunder-storm  it  was  followed  immediately  by  v.  5b,  to  which 
it  directly  points.  Elihu's  heart  trembled,  not  at  what  he  had 
just  described,  but  at  that  which  he  was  about  to  portray.  For 
a  reconstruction  of  that  picture  as  it  was  originally  drawn,  see 
note  on  v.   12. 

2.  Hearken  ye  unto  the  noise  of  his  voice.    The  Sahidic  and 

281 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


And  the  ^  sound  that  goeth  out  of  his  mouth. 

3.  He  sendeth  it  forth  under  the  whole  heaven, 
And  his  ^  Hghtning  unto  the  ^  ends  of  the  earth. 

4.  After  it  ^  a  voice  roareth ; 

He  thundereth  with  the  voice  of  his  majesty : 
And  he  stayeth  them  not  when  his  voice  is  heard. 

5.  God  thundereth  marvellously  with  his  voice ; 
Great  things  doeth  he,  which  we  cannot  comprehend. 

6.  For  he  saith  to  the  snow,  Fall  thou  on  the  earth ; 
^  Likewise  to  the  shower  of  rain, 

1  m.  Or,  muttering.      ^  m.  Heb.  light.      '  m.  Heb.  skirts.'    <  2  Heb.  MSS.  his  voice. 
»  Syr.  At.  have  for  the  rest  of  the  verse  simply,  the  rain  and  his  mighty  storm. 

primitive  Greek  versions  show  that  this  verse  is  a  part  of  the  poem 
on  the  thunder-storm,  as  are  vs.  3-5a.  It  followed  36 :  32 ; 
see  note  on  v.  13  below.  The  words  are  descriptive  of  the 
thunder,  which  is  often  called  in  the  Old  Testament  the  "voice  of 
Jehovah." 

3.  Under  the  whole  heaven.  A  vivid  description  of  the  seem- 
ing extent  of  the  lightning's  flash. 

4.  A  voice.  Read  with  two  Hebrew  manuscripts,  "his  voice." 
He  stayeth  them  not.  As  the  text  stands  it  is  not  clear  to  what 
"them"  referred.  Originally  v.  6b  probably  formed  a  conclud- 
ing line  which  connected  directly  with  v.  4,  the  two  lines  probably 
reading  (see  notes  on  vs.  5,  6) : 

"And  he  stayeth  them  not  when  his  voice  is  heard  — 
The  rain  and  his  mighty  storm." 

5.  God  thundereth  marvellously  with  his  voice.  Scholars 
have  pretty  generally  recognized  that  this  is  a  gloss  on  v.  4. 
It  was  added  probably  after  the  interpolation  of  the  psalm  on 
the  storm.  It  belongs  neither  to  that  psalm  nor  to  the  speech 
of  Elihu.  Great  things  doeth  he.  The  Sahidic  and  Greek 
versions  show  that  this  connects  directly  with  v.  i  as  a  part  of 
Elihu's  address.  It  is  the  beginning  of  the  statement  of  the 
reasons  why  Elihu  trembles.  See  note  on  v.  12.  Which  we 
cannot  comprehend.  The  Hebrew  is  literally,  "And  we  do  not 
know." 

6.  For  he  saith  to  the  snow,  Fall  thou  on  the  earth.  As  the 
same  versions  show,  this  is  a  part  of  Elihu's  speech,  and  completes 
the  couplet  begun  in  v.  5b.     Likewise  to  the   shower  of  rain. 

282 


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And  to  the  showers  of  his  mighty  rain. 

7.  He  sealeth  up  the  hand  of  every  man ; 

That  all  men  whom  he  hath  made  may  know  it. 

8.  Then  the  beasts  go  into  coverts, 
And  remain  in  their  dens. 

9.  Out  of  ^  the  chamber  of  the  south  cometh  the  storm: 
And  cold  out  of  the  ^  north. 

10.  By  the  breath  of  God  ice  is  given: 

And  the  breadth  of  the  waters  is  ^  straitened. 

11.  ^  Yea,  he  ladeth  the  thick  cloud  with  moisture ; 

1  m.  See  9:9.        "^  ra.  Heb.  scattering  winds.         ^  m.  Qr,  congealed.         *  Gr.  Sah. 
omit  V.  II  and  i2ab. 

There  is  unpoetical  repetition  in  the  last  two  lines  of  the  verse. 
We  should  read  with  the  Syriac  and  Arabic  versions,  simply: 

"The  rain  and  his  mighty  storm." 

This  line  forms  the  conclusion  of  v.  4  and  is  a  part  of  the  psalm 
of  the  rain-storm.     See  notes  on  vs.  4  and  13. 

7.  He  sealeth  up  the  hand  of  every  man.  This  is  a  very 
curious  statement,  and  without  meaning.  With  several  scholars 
we  should  read,  changing  one  Hebrew  letter,  "On  every  man  he 
setteth  a  seal."  The  seal  is  the  snow  which  surrounds  the  dwell- 
ings of  men,  and  interrupts  their  activities.  Verses  7-10  form 
part  of  Elihu's  address.  See  note  on  v.  12,  Whom  he  hath 
made.     It  is  better  to  render  simply,  "may  know  his  work." 

8.  Go  into  coverts.  Snow  hampers  the  movements  of  animals 
as  well  as  of  men. 

9.  Of  the  south.  This  is  not  in  the  Hebrew.  It  is  doubt- 
fully supplied  from  9:9.  North.  As  the  margin  tells  us,^  the 
Hebrew  word  means  simply  "scatterings,"  to  which  the  Revisers 
added  "winds."  It  is  better  with  a  number  of  scholars  to  make 
the  slightest  change  in  one  Hebrew  letter  and  read  "granaries." 
The  idea  then  is  that  God  keeps  his  storms  in  chambers  and  his 
cold  in  granaries  and  brings  them  out  as  he  sees  fit. 

10.  Straitened.  Read  with  the  margin,  "congealed."  The 
winds  are  figuratively  described  as  the  breath  of  God.  Verses 
9,  10  continue  the  discourse  of  Elihu;    see  note  on  v.  12. 

11.  He  ladeth  the  thick  cloud.  The  Sahidic  and  primitive 
Greek  versions  omit  this  verse  and  the  first  two  lines  of  v.  12,  show- 

283 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


He  spreadeth  abroad  the  cloud  of  his  ^  lightning: 
12.  And  it  is  turned  round  about  by  his  guidance, 

That  they  may  do  whatsoever  he  commandeth 

them 
Upon  the  face  of  the  habitable  world : 

1  m.  Heb.  light. 

ing  that  they  formed  part  of  the  psalm  on  the  thunder-storm; 
cf.  note  on  V.  13.  With  moisture.  The  Hebrew  word  used  here  is 
very  unusual,  if  not  impossible.  It  is  better  to  suppose  with 
Budde  that  it  is  a  part  of  the  word  for  lightning,  the  end  of  which 
was  accidentally  erased.  Lightning.  Read  with  the  margin 
"light." 

12.  And  it  is  turned  round  about.  The  translation  of  the 
Revisers  regards  the  verse  as  consisting  of  three  lines,  whereas  it 
consists  of  four,  thus : 

"And  it  is  turned  round  about, 
By  his  guidance  to  work. 
All  this  he  commands 
On  the  face  of  the  earthly  world." 

Of  these  four  lines  the  first  two  belonged,  according  to  the  Greek 
and  Sahidic  versions,  to  the  rain-storm  poem  (see  note  on  v.  13), 
the  last  two  formed  the  conclusion  of  this  part  of  Elihu's  address. 
Elihu's  address,  then,  when  the  rain-storm  poem  is  omitted, 
may  be  reconstructed  from  36 :  25  as  follows : 

36  :  25.      "  All  men  have  looked  thereon, 
Man  beholdeth  it  from  afar. 
27a.       For  he  restraineth  the  drops  of  water, 
28b.       His  cloud  o'ershadows  many  men. 
33.         He  appointeth  a  time  for  cattle, 

They  know  the  place  of  their  lying  down. 
37  :i.  At  this  also  my  heart  trembles, 

"And  is  moved  out  of  its  place. 
Sb.         Great  things  doeth  he  and  we  know  them  not, 
6a.         For  he  saith  to  the  snow,  '  Fall  earthward.' 

7.  On  every  man  he  setteth  a  seal, 
That  all  men  may  know  his  doing. 

8.  Then  the  beasts  go  into  coverts. 
And  remain  in  their  dens. 

9.  Out  of  the  chamber  cometh  the  storm, 
And  from  the  granaries,  the  cold. 

284 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB  37  :  I4 


13.  1  Whether  it  be  for  correction,  or  for  his  ^  land, 
Or  for  mercy,  that  he  cause  it  to  come. 

14.  Hearken  unto  this,  O  Job  : 


Gr.  and  Sah.  omit  v.  13.  ^  na.  Or,  earth. 


37 :  10.         By  the  breath  of  God  ice  is  given, 

And  the  breadth  of  the  waters  is  congealed. 
i2cd.     All  this  he  commands 

On  the  face  of  the  earthly  world." 

13.  Or  for  his  land.  "Or"  should  be  omitted  here.  We 
should  read  the  line,  "Whether  for  correction  on  his  land."  The 
Greek  and  Sahidic  versions  show  that  this  verse  was  a  part  of  the 
psalm  of  the  rain-storm  —  in  fact,  its  concluding  couplet.  That 
psalm  when  put  together  reads  as  follows : 

36  :  26.      "  Behold  God  is  great;   we  know  him  not; 
The  number  of  his  years  is  unsearchable. 
27b.       He  pours  out  rain  as  his  mist, 
28a.       Which  the  clouds  distil, 

29.  And   who   can   understand   the  spreading    of    the 

clouds, 
The  thunderings  of  his  pavilion? 

30.  Behold  on  it  he  spreads  his  light,  ^ 
He  covers  the  tops  of  the  mountains. 

31.  For  by  these  he  fills  peoples ; 
He  gives  food  in  abundance. 

32.  He  covereth  his  hands  with  the  lightning, 
He  commands  it  to  hit  the  mark. 

37:2.  Hearken  to  the  noise  of  his  voice, 

And  the  sound  going  out  of  his  mouth. 

3.  Under  the  whole  heaven  he  sends  it. 
And  his  light  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

4.  After  it  his  voice  roareth, 

With  the  voice  of  his  majesty  he  thunders ; 

And  he  stayeth  them  not  when  his  voice  is  heard. 
6b.         The  rain  and  his  mighty  storm. 
II.         Yea,  he  ladeth  the  thick  cloud  with  lightning, 

He  spreadeth  abroad  the  cloud  of  his  light. 
i2ab.     And  is  turned  round  about, 

By  his  guidance  to  work, 
13.         Whether  for  judgment  on  his  land, 

Or  in  mercy  he  command  it." 
285 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


Stand  still,  and  consider  the  wondrous  works  of  God. 

15.  Dost  thou  know  ^how  God  layeth  his  charge  upon 

them, 
And  causeth  the  ^  Hghtning  of  his  cloud  to  shine  ? 

16.  Dost  thou  know  the  balancings  of  the  clouds, 

The  wondrous  works  of  him  which  is  perfect  in 
knowledge  ? 

17.  ^  How  thy  garments  are  warm, 

^  When  the  earth  is  still  by  reason  of  the  south  wind? 

18.  Canst  thou  with  him  spread  out  the  sky, 
Which  is  strong  as  a  molten  mirror  ? 

19.  Teach  ^  us  what  we  shall  say  unto  him ; 

For  we  cannot  order  our  speech  by  reason  of  darkness. 

1  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  how  God  accomplishes  his  works.  «  m.  Heb.  light.  ^  m.  Or, 

Thou  whose  garments  are  b'c.        *  m.  Or,  When  he  quieteth  the  earth  by  the  south  wind. 
»  25  Heb.  MSS.  Gr.  Syr.  Sah.  Eth.  Ar.  me. 


(5)    Let  Job  consider  God's  work  in  the  heavens,  37  :  14-18 

14.  Consider  the  wondrous  works  of  God.  Having  told  Job 
in  vs.  1-12  [genuine  portions]  how  the  great  manifestations  of 
God  in  nature  impressed  him,  Elihu  asks  Job  to  consider  them 
especially. 

15.  Layeth  his  charge  upon  them.  Read  with  the  versions 
cited,  "how   God  accomphshes  his  works." 

16.  Balancings.  Rather  the  poising  of  the  clouds  in  the  sky, 
where,  though  laden  with  moisture,  they  float  without  support. 

17.  How  thy  garments  are  warm.  Read  with  the  margin, 
"Thou  whose  garments  are  warm."  The  verse  is  a  very  vivid 
touch,  revealing  actual  experience  of  a  sirocco.  One's  very  gar- 
ments are  hot,  and  the  heat  quiets  all  activities. 

18.  Strong  as  a  molten  mirror.  The  reference  is  to  the  Hebrew 
and  Babylonian  conception  of  the  sky  as  a  solid,  overarching 
vault,  in  which  the  stars  were  fixed  and  which  supported  a  celestial 
ocean;    cf.   Gen.   1:6,   7,   14-16. 

(6)    How  shall  one  address  a  being  so  great?  37 :  19-24 

19.  Teach  us.  Read  with  the  authorities  cited,  "Teach  me." 
Elihu  is  overawed  by  the  instances  which  he  has  cited.  Dark- 
ness.    Mental  darkness  or  ignorance. 

286 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


20.  Shall  it  be  told  him  that  I  would  speak  ? 

1  Or  should  a  man  wish  that  he  were  swallowed  up  ? 

21.  And  now  men  ^  see  not  the  light  which  is  bright 

in  the  skies: 
But  the  wind  passeth,  and  cleanseth  them. 

22.  Out  of  the  north  cometh  ^  golden  splendour : 
God  hath  upon  him  terrible  majesty. 

23.  r6>Mc^mg  the  Almighty,  we  cannot  find  him  out; 

he  is  excellent  in  power : 
And  ^  in  judgement  and  plenteous  justice  he  will 
not  afflict. 


1  m.  Or,  //  a  man  speak,  surely  he  sftall  be  swallowed  up.  *  m.  Or,  cannot  look  on 

the  light  when  it  is  bright  in  the  skies,  when  the  wind  hath  passed  and  cleansed  them.       '  m. 
Heb.  gold.        *  m.  Or,  to  judgement  .  .  .  he  doeth  no  violence. 

20.  Should  a  man  wish  that  he  were  swallowed  up  ?  Read 
with  the  margin,  "If  a  man  speak,  surely  he  shall  be  swallowed 
up."  God  is  so  great  that  Elihu  would  not  think  of  intimating 
that  he  wished  to  speak  to  him,  declaring  that,  if  one  should 
actually  speak,  he  would  be  destroyed.  The  reference  is  to  Job's 
oft-expressed  wish  to  speak  to  God. 

21.  See  not  the  light.  Read  with  the  margin,  "cannot  look 
upon  the  light  when  it  is  bright  in  the  skies,  when  the  wind  hath 
passed  and  cleansed  them."  Elihu  means  that  men  cannot  look 
even  on  the  brilliance  of  the  cloudless  skies,  how  much  less  on  God  ! 

22.  Golden  splendor.  As  the  margin  tells  us,  the  Hebrew 
has  simply  "gold."  We  should,  however,  change  a  single  letter 
of  it  and  read  "brightness."  The  reference  is  probably  to  the 
aurora  borealis.  In  post-Exilic  times  the  Hebrews  believed  that 
the  home  of  God  was  in  the  north,  and  the  aurora  may  well  have 
been  regarded  as  a  splendor  issuing  forth  from  God. 

23.  Touching  the  Almighty.  Neither  the  text  nor  margin  of 
RV  is  satisfactory.  The  Hebrew  has  three  lines  and  should  be 
rendered  thus : 

"The  Almighty  —  we  cannot  find  him; 
He  abounds  in  strength  and  justice ; 
And  abundant  righteousness  he  will  not  violate." 

The  last  clause  refers  to  Job's   complaints   that   God   has  dealt 
harshly  with  him. 

287 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


24.  Men  do  therefore  fear  him : 

He  regardeth  not  any  that  are  wise  of  heart. 

V.  Jehovah's  Address  and  the  Final  Colloquy  be- 
tween Jehovah  and  Job,  38 : 1-42  :  6 

I.   The  Great  Address  of  Jehovah,  38 : 1-40 :  2 
38.       Then  the  Lord  answered  Job  out  of  the  whirlwind, 
and  said, 

2.  Who  is  this  that  darkeneth  counsel 
By  words  without  knowledge  ? 

3.  Gird  up  now  thy  loins  ^  Uke  a  man ; 

1 1  Heb.  MS.  Syr.  Ar.  like  a  mighty  man. 

24.  Men  do  therefore  fear  him.  This  Elihu  regards  as  the 
correct  attitude.  Regardeth  not .  .  .  wise  of  heart.  He  pays  no 
attention  to  those  who  are  conceited  enough  to  think  they  know 
better  than  he  does. 

(i)    Jehovah  challenges  Job's  attention,  38 :  1-3 

1.  Then  the  Lord  answered  Job.  With  this  verse  the  work  of 
the  original  poet  is  resumed,  these  words  connecting  directly 
with  31 :  40.  The  vigorous  poetry  which  follows  in  chs. 
38,  39  is  in  delightful  contrast  to  that  of  the  Elihu  writers.  The 
great  author  of  Job  reserved  his  finest  flight  for  Jehovah's  ad- 
dress. In  chs.  29-31  Job's  thought  had  centred  on  his  relation 
to  God.  All  other  problems  had  fallen  into  the  background. 
The  address  of  Jehovah  solves  for  him  the  problem  of  this  re- 
lationship, not  by  what  Jehovah  says,  grand  as  that  is,  but  by 
personal  contact  with  Jehovah  himself.  Whirlwind.  Better, 
"storm."  The  poet  employs  even  here  the  old  Hebrew  idea 
that  God  both  reveals  and  veils  himself  in  the  storm-cloud. 

2.  Who  is  this.  As  v.  i  shows,  the  reference  is  to  Job.  If  chs. 
32-37  were  an  original  part  of  the  poem,  the  reference  should  be 
to  Elihu.  Words  without  knowledge.  Job  had  criticised  the 
order  of  life  and  God's  dealings  with  him  as  though  he  understood 
everything.  The  first  lesson  he  must  be  taught  was  one  of 
humility.     His  knowledge  was  not  unlimited. 

3.  Gird  up  thy  loins.  Job  is  scornfully  invited  to  the  contest  he 
has  so  often  demanded.  Like  a  man.  Read  with  the  authorities 
cited,  "like  a  mighty  man  "  or  "like  a  man  of  war." 

288 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


For  I  will  demand  of  thee,  and  declare  thou  unto 
me. 

4.  Where  wast  thou  when  I  laid  the  foundations  of 

the  earth  ? 
Declare  \  if  thou  hast  understanding. 

5.  Who  determined  the  measures  thereof,  2  if  thou 

knowest  ? 
Or  who  stretched  the  line  upon  it  ? 

6.  Whereupon  were  the  ^  foundations  thereof  ^  fast- 

ened? 
Or  who  laid  the  corner  stone  thereof ; 

7.  When  the  morning  stars  sang  together. 
And  all  the  sons  of  God  shouted  for  joy  ? 

1  m.  Heb.  if  thou  knowest  understanding.         2  m.  Or,  seeing.  s  m.  Heb.  sockets. 

*  m.  Heb.  made  to  sink. 


(2)    Where  was  Job  when  the  foundations  of  the  world  were  laid? 
38:  4-15 

4.  Where  wast  thou.  Of  course  there  was  but  one  answer ; 
Job  did  not  yet  exist.  This  is  the  first  of  a  series  of  ironical 
questions  intended  to  make  Job  realize  his  insignificance  and 
ignorance. 

5.  If  thou  knowest.  Margin,  "seeing  thou  knowest."  Ren- 
der "for  thou  knowest."  The  statement  is  a  fine  bit  of  irony. 
It  brings  into  strong  relief  Job's  ignorance  of  these  matters. 

6.  Foundations.  Literally  "bases  "  or  "sockets."  In  these 
the  pillars  which  supported  the  world  (cf.  9  :  6  and  note)  were 
supposed  to  rest.  These  bases  apparently  rested  on  nothing, 
cf.  26  :  7  and  note. 

7.  Morning  stars  sang.  In  the  heathen  world  stars  and  gods 
were  associated ;  here  stars  and  angels.  They  are  "morning 
stars  "  because  the  earth's  foundations  were  laid  in  the  morning 
of  the  world.  The  allusion  to  singing  is  a  mythological  one,  and, 
like  the  references  to  leviathan  in  3  :  8  and  to  Rahab  in  9 :  13 
and  26  :  12,  shows  the  influence  of  the  Babylonian  Creation  myth. 
In  that  myth  the  gods  raised  a  hymn  of  praise  to  Marduk  when 
Marduk  had  completed  the  creation  of  the  world;  see  L.  W. 
King's  Seven  Tablets  of  Creation.  Vol.  I,  p.  72  ff.  Sons  of  God. 
Beings  of  the  divine  class,  or  angels.     See  note  on  i :  6. 

u  289 


38:8  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


8.  Or  who  shut  up  the  sea  with  doors, 

When  it  brake  forth  ^,  as  if  it  had  issued  out  of  the 
womb; 

9.  When  I  made  the  cloud  the  garment  thereof, 
And  thick  darkness  a  swaddhng  band  for  it, 

10.  And  ^  prescribed  for  it  ^  my  ^  decree, 
And  set  bars  and  doors, 

11.  And   said,   Hitherto   shalt   thou   come,   but   no 

further ; 
And  here  shall  ^  thy  proud  waves  be  stayed  ? 

12.  ^  Hast  thou  commanded  the  morning  since    thy 

days  began, 
And  caused  the  day  spring  to  know  its  place ; 

13.  That  it  might  take  hold  of  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
And  the  wicked  be  shaken  out  of  it  ? 


1  m.  Or,  and  issued.  ^  Qj-_  gyr  gah.  Eth.  Ar.  /  established,     m.  Heb.  brake. 

«  Gr.  Syr.  Sah.  Eth.  Ar.  a  decree.  *  m.  Or,  boundary.  «  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  the 

pride  oj  thy  waves  be  broken.       ^  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  Is  it  from  thee  I  have  commanded. 

8.  Shut  up  the  sea  with  doors.  Again  an  allusion  to  theBaby- 
lonian  Creation  myth.  For  the  way  in  which  Marduk,  in  whose 
place  Jehovah  is  here  put,  closed  the  door  against  the  destructive 
waters  of  the  primal  sea,  cf.  the  quotation  from  the  Babylonian 
poem  given  above  in  note  on  26:  13.  Issued  out  of  the  womb. 
Descriptive  of  the  onrush  of  the  destructive  waters.  It  is  better 
to  read  with  the  margin,  "and  issued,"  for  the  next  verse  shows 
that  the  figure  is  changed  and  the  poet  suddenly  represents  the 
day  of  creation  as  the  birthday  of  the  sea. 

9.  Garment  .  .  .  swaddling  band.  The  clothing  of  the  new- 
born sea  —  a  beautiful  poetic  metaphor. 

10.  Bars  and  doors.  Again  a  mythological  allusion ;  see  note 
on  26 :  13. 

11.  Thy  proud  waves  be  stayed.  Read  with  the  versions  cited, 
"the  pride  of  thy  waves  be  broken." 

12.  Commanded  the  morning.  That  it  may  know  what  time 
each  day  to  appear.  Know  its  place.  In  the  sky,  i.e.  on  the 
eastern  horizon. 

13.  The  wicked  be  shaken  out  of  it.  As  one  shakes  dust  out  of 
a  garment.  For  the  way  the  wicked  avoid  the  light,  see  24 :  13-17. 

290 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB  38:19 


14.  It  is  changed  as  clay  under  the  seal ; 
And  all  things  stand  forth  ^  as  a  garment : 

15.  And  from  the  wicked  their  light  is  withholden, 
And  the  high  arm  is  broken. 

16.  Hast  thou  entered  into  the  springs  of  the  sea? 
Or  hast  thou  walked  in  the  ^  recesses  of  the  deep  ? 

17.  Have  the  gates  of  death  been  revealed  unto  thee  ? 
^  Or  hast  thou  seen  the  gates  of  the  shadow  of 

death  ? 

18.  Hast  thou  comprehended  the  breadth  of  the  earth  ? 
Declare,  if  thou  knowest  ^  it  all. 

19.  Where  is  the  way  to  the  dwelling  of  light, 

And  as  for  darkness,  where  is  the  place  thereof; 

,    1  m.  Or,  as  in  a  garment.  2  ra.  Or,  search.  '  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  And  have  the 

porters  oj  the  shadow  of  death  seen  thee?  *  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  how  great. 

14.  And  all  things  stand  forth.  Perhaps  by  a  slight  change 
of  the  Hebrew  letters  we  should  read  "And  be  variegated."  As 
a  garment.     The  text  is  to  be  preferred  to  the  marginal  reading. 

15.  The  high  arm  is  broken.    Because  their  power  lies  in  darkness. 

(3)    Does  Job  know  the  secrets  of  the  earth?  38 :  16-30 

16.  Springs  of  the  sea.  The  fountains  of  the  great  deep, 
which  led  from  the  supposed  subterranean  ocean ;  see  Gen.  7  : 
11;    8:2. 

17.  The  gates  of  death.  Sheol  lay  below  the  sea  (see  note  on 
26  :  5).  It  was  natural  therefore  to  mention  it  next  after  the  sea. 
The  gates  of  the  shadow  of  death.  Probably  we  should  read  with 
the  versions  cited,  "Have  the  porters  of  the  shadow  of  death 
seen  thee?  "  Probably  an  allusion  to  the  "scorpion  men,"  etc., 
who  in  the  Babylonian  Gilgamesh  epic  guard  the  way  to  the 
underworld.  The  thought  then  is  that  Job  has  not  been  even 
in  sight  of  the  porters  of  Sheol,  so  he  can  know  nothing  of  that 
which  lies  beyond. 

18.  Breadth.  From  depth  God  passes  to  breadth.  The  earth 
was  considered  flat.  It  all.  Read  with  the  versions,  "Declare 
if  thou  knowest  how  great."  The  breadth  of  the  earth  surpassed 
Job's  knowledge  as  much  as  did  the  depths  of  Sheol. 

19.  Light  .  .  .  darkness.  Considered  here  as  physical  entities 
with  local   habitations. 

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20.  That  thou  shouldest  take  it  to  the  bound  thereof, 
And  that  thou  shouldest  discern  the  paths  to  the 

house  thereof  ? 

2 1 .  Doubtless,  ^  thou  knowest,  for  thou  wast  then  born, 
And  the  number  of  thy  days  is  great ! 

22.  Hast  thou  entered  the  treasuries  of  the  snow, 
Or  hast  thou  seen  the  treasuries  of  the  hail, 

23.  Which  I  have  reserved  against  the  time  of  trouble. 
Against  the  day  of  battle  and  war  ? 

24.  2  By  what  way  is  the  ^  light  parted, 

Or  the  east  wind  scattered  upon  the  earth  ? 

25.  Who  hath  cleft  a  channel  for  the  waterflood. 
Or  a  way  for  the  lightning  of  the  thunder ; 

1  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  /  know.  2  m.  Or,  Which  is  the  way  to  the  place  where  the  light 

is  &•€.  3  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  mist. 

20.  Discern  the  paths  to  the  house  thereof.  As  several 
scholars  have  noted,  a  slight  change  in  the  Hebrew  would  enable 
us  to  read,  "bring  it  to  the  paths  of  its  house,"  which  would  give 
a  much  better  parallelism  with  the  preceding  line. 

21.  Thou  knowest.  Again  we  have  cutting  irony.  The  ver- 
sions quoted  apparently  thought  it  too  bold  and  changed  the  verb 
to  the  first  person. 

22.  Treasuries.  Compare  37:9  and  note.  Here  the  thought 
is  similar.  God  keeps  his  marvellous  snow  in  treasuries  and 
brings  it  out  at  will.  Treasuries  of  the  hail.  Some  scholars 
would  change  two  Hebrew  letters  and  read  "treasurers  of  the 
hail."  It  would  make  better  poetry,  and  finds  analogy  in  Ethi- 
opic  Enoch,  ch.  60,  where  different  spirits  preside  over,  guard,  and 
direct  each  physical  phenomenon. 

23.  Against  the  time  of  trouble.  Hail  is  frequently  mentioned 
as  an  instrument  of  divine  judgment  and  warfare;  see  Josh. 
10:11;   Ps.  18:12,  13;   Isa.  28:17;   30:30;    Eze.  13  :  13. 

24.  Light  parted.  Read  with  the  versions  cited,  "the  mist 
allotted."     Light  has  been  treated  above. 

25.  Waterflood.  The  rain,  which  was  supposed  to  come 
through  a  "channel  "  from  an  ocean  above  the  sky,  cf.  Gen.  7  : 
11;  8:2.  Way  for  the  lightning.  God  has  ordained  the  track 
of  the  lightning  also.  This  line  was  borrowed  by  the  interpola- 
tor of  28 :  26. 

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THE  BOOK  OF  JOB  38:31 


26.  To  cause  it  to  rain  on  a  land  where  no  man  is ; 
On  the  wilderness,  wherein  there  is  no  man ; 

27.  To  satisfy  the  waste  and  desolate  ground; 

And  to  cause  the  ^  tender  grass  to  spring  forth  ? 

28.  Hath  the  rain  a  father  ? 

Or  who  hath  begotten  the  drops  of  dew  ? 

29.  Out  of  whose  womb  came  the  ice  ? 

And  the  hoary  frost  of  heaven,  who  hath  ^  gen- 
dered it  ? 

30.  The  waters  ^  are  hidden  as  with  stone 
And  the  face  of  the  deep  ^  is  frozen. 

31.  Canst  thou  bind  the  ^  cluster  of  the  Pleiades, 


>  1  m.  Or,  greensward.  ^  m.  Or,  given  it  birth.  *  m.  Or,  are  congealed  like 

stone.  *  m.  Heb.  cohereth.  *  m.  Or,  chain,  or,  sweet  influences. 


26.  Where  no  man  is.  Such  is  God's  bounty  that  he  does 
not  confine  his  rain  to  inhabited  regions  as  a  man  would. 

27.  Tender  grass.  The  margin  renders  "greensward,"  but  it 
is  better  with  several  scholars  to  make  a  slight  change  in  the 
Hebrew  and  read,  ''And  to  cause  the  thirsty  land  to  bring  forth 
grass." 

28.  Dew.  To  the  ancients  this  seemed  kindred  to  the  rain, 
but  was  a  still  greater  mystery  because  it  came  without  clouds. 

29.  Gendered  it.  Read  with  the  margin,  "  hath  given  it 
birth." 

30.  Hidden  .  .  .  frozen.  As  the  verse  stands  the  first  line  is 
unintelligible.  The  waters  cannot  be  said  by  freezing  to  hide 
themselves  like  stone.  With  several  scholars  we  should  trans- 
pose the  verbs  and  read : 

"The  waters  are  frozen  like  stone 
And  the  face  of  the  deep  is  hidden." 

(4)    Does  J  oh  control  the  constellations?  38  :  31-3S 

31.  Canst  thou.  Better  "  Didst  thou."  Cluster.  Read  with 
the  first  margin,  "chain."  Pleiades.  The  Hebrew  word  de- 
notes a  constellation,  but  whether  Pleiades  or  Canis  Major  (i.e. 
the  star  Sirius)  is  in  doubt.  As  the  next  line  mentions  Orion, 
the  hunter,  "the  chain  "  might  well  be  that  which  binds  the  dog- 

293 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


Or  loose  the  ^  bands  of  Orion  ? 

32.  Canst  thou  lead  forth    ^  the  Mazzaroth  in  their 

season  ? 
Or  canst  thou  ^  guide  ^  the  Bear  with  her  ^  train  ? 

33.  Knowest  thou  the  ordinances  of  the  heavens? 
Canst  thou  establish   the  dominion  thereof  in  the 

earth  ? 

34.  Canst  thou  Uft  up  thy  voice  to  the  clouds, 
That  abundance  of  waters  ^  may  cover  thee  ? 

35.  Canst  thou  send  forth  lightnings,  that  they  may  go, 
And  say  unto  thee,  Here  we  are  ? 

36.  Who  hath  put  wisdom  in  the  ^  inward  parts  ? 
Or  who  hath  given  understanding  to  the  ^  mind  ? 

*  Syr.  At.  Eth.  way.  Vulg.  Sah.  circle.  Gr.  hedge.  2  m.  Or,  the  signs  of  (he  Zodiac. 
*  Syr.  Vulg.  At.  cause  to  rise.  *  Gr.  Aq.  the  evening  star.  ^  m.  Heb.  sons.  *  Gr. 
OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  shall  answer  thee.  ^  m.  Or,  dark  clouds.  *  Sym.  Syr.  Ar.  the  fool. 
m.  Or,  meteor. 

Star  to  the  hunter.  Bands  of  Orion.  The  reading  "bands" 
is  uncertain,  as  the  versions  cited  show.  If  we  read  "  way  "  with 
the  Syriac,  etc.,  the  meaning  would  be  "Canst  thou  change  his 
course?  "  If  we  read  "circle,"  the  thought  is,  "Didst  thou  loose 
his  girdle?  " 

32.  Mazzaroth.  The  interpretation  of  the  margin,  "signs  of 
the  Zodiac,"  is  very  doubtful.  The  Hebrew  treats  the  word 
as  a  singular,  and  it  is  probably  the  name  of  some  star  or  con- 
stellation, but  which  we  cannot  now  determine.  Guide  the 
Bear  with  her  train.  The  Bear  is  a  well-known  constellation ; 
see  note  on  9:9.  Perhaps  we  gain  a  stronger  meaning  here,  if, 
on  the  basis  of  the  versions  cited,  we  read : 

"Canst  thou  cause  Vesperus  to  rise  with  her  sons?  " 

33.  Knowest  thou.  As  some  scholars  have  suggested,  we 
should  slightly  change  the  Hebrew  pointing  and  read,  "Dost  thou 
cause  the  heavens  to  know  laws?  "  i.e.  Dost  thou  teach  the  laws 
of  movement  to  these  heavenly  bodies? 

34.  Cover  thee.  A  clearer  thought  and  better  poetry  is  ob- 
tained, if  we  read  with  the  versions  as  above,  "answer  thee." 

36.  Inward  parts.  Read  with  the  margin,  "dark  clouds,"  or 
with  some  scholars,  "cloud  layers."  In  this  context  reference  to 
mental  powers  is  out  of  place.     Mind.     Symmachus  and  others 

294 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


37.  Who  can  ^  number  the  clouds  by  wisdom  ? 
Or  who  can  ^  pour  out  the  bottles  of  heaven, 

38.  When  the  dust  runneth  into  a  mass, 
And  the  clods  cleave  fast  together  ? 

39.  Wilt  thou  hunt  the  prey  for  the  Honess  ? 
Or  satisfy  the  appetite  of  the  young  lions, 

40.  When  they  couch  in  their  dens. 

And  abide  in  the  covert  to  he  in  wait  ? 

41.  Who  provideth  for  the  raven  his  food, 
When  his  young  ones  cry  unto  God, 
A?id  ^  wander  for  lack  of  meat  ? 

39.  Knowest  thou  the  time  when  the  wild  goats  of  the 

rock  bring  forth  ? 

1  Aq.  (Syr.  Hex.)  break.         2  m.  Heb.  cause  to  lie  down.         ^  Syr.  Ar.  grow  weary. 

read  "fool,"  which  happens  in  Hebrew  to  have  the  same  form  as 
the  word  rendered  "Orion"  in  v.  31  and  in  9  :  9.  Probably, 
therefore,  the  name  of  some  constellation  stood  here,  but  we  cannot 
tell  what  it  was.  Some  think  of  "  meteor,"  as  the  margin  suggests; 
others,  of  the  aurora.  These  were  either  thought  to  have  intelli- 
gence or  as  means  of  prognostication  to  convey  intelligence  to  men. 

37.  Number.  Read  with  Aquila,  "break."  It  makes  a  better 
parallelism  with  the  next  line. 

38.  When  the  dust  runneth  into  a  mass.  This  portrays  the 
effect  of  rain  upon  the  earth. 

(5)    Does  Job  care  for  the  various  wild  animals?  38  :  39-39  :  30 

39.  Hunt  the  prey  for  the  lioness.  Having  by  skilful  ques- 
tioning reminded  Job  of  his  powerlessness  to  control  the  heavenly 
marvels,  Jehovah  begins  now  to  exhibit  in  the  same  way  his 
powerlessness  to  control  the  wonders  of  the  nearer  and  more 
familiar  animal  Ufe  upon  the  earth.  The  lion,  the  king  of  beasts, 
is  mentioned  first. 

41.  Raven.  A  bird  is  next  taken  for  illustration.  We  have 
not  a  scientific  list,  but  poetic  variety.  Wander.  Read  with  the 
versions  cited,  "grow  weary."  Nestlings  do  not  wander,  but  from 
lack  of  food  their  cries  may  become  faint. 

I.  Knowest  thou  the  time  when  the  wild  goats  of  the  rock 
bring  forth  ?  The  word  for  goats  is  in  the  Hebrew  masculine,  and 
the  line  as  it  stands  is  identical  with  v.  2b.     Probably  we  should 

295 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


Or  canst  thou  mark  when  the  hinds  do  calve  ? 

2.  Canst  thou  number  the  months  that  they  fulfil  ? 
^  Or  knowest  thou  the  time  when  they  bring  forth  ? 

3.  They  bow  themselves,  they  bring  forth  their  young, 
They  cast  out  their  sorrows. 

4.  Their  young  ones  are  ^  in  good  liking,  they  grow 

up  in  the  open  field ; 
They  go  forth,  and  ^  return  not  again. 

5.  Who  hath  sent  out  the  wild  ass  free  ? 

Or  who  hath  loosed  the  bands  of  the  wild  ass  ? 

6.  Whose  house  I  have  made  the  wilderness. 
And  the  salt  land  his  dwelling  place. 

7.  He  scorneth  the  tumult  of  the  city. 

Neither  heareth  he  the  shoutings  of  the  ^  driver. 

8.  ^  The  range  of  the  mountains  is  his  pasture. 
And  he  searcheth  after  every  green  thing. 

1  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  Or  dost  thou  loosen  their  birth-pangs  f  2  Theod.  Sym.  Vulg.  Eth. 

are  scattered  (or  cast  out) .  »  m.  Or,  return  not  unto  them.  *  m.  Or,  taskmaster. 

«  Theod.  Vulg.  Targ.  Eth.  He  spies  out. 

with  Duhm  read,  "Dost  thou  teach  the  wild  rock-goats  heat?  " 
The  second  line  would  then  follow  naturally.  The  rock-goat  or 
ibex  is  very  shy. 

2.  Knowest  thou  the  time.  Job  is  ignorant  of  many  details 
of  animal  life,  which  God  in  his  wisdom  has  ordered  and  which 
God  follows  with  sympathetic  intelligence. 

3.  Cast  out  their  sorrows.  God  has  tenderly  provided  that 
their  maternal  pains  shall  be  short. 

4.  Are  in  good  liking.  Read  with  the  versions,  "are  cast  out " 
or  "become  separated."  Return  not  again.  Read  with  the  mar- 
gin, "return  not  unto  them."  The  early  age  at  which  they  be- 
come independent  is  a  wise  provision  of  God's. 

5.  Wild  ass  free.  A  supreme  example  of  a  lover  of  liberty,  in 
striking  contrast  to  his  drudge  of  a  brother  —  the  domesticated  ass. 

6.  Wilderness.  The  land  "where  no  man  is  "  (38  :  26)  — the 
ideal  home  for  a  wild  animal, 

8.  The  range  of  the  mountains.  Read  with  the  versions  cited, 
by  changing  one  vowel  in  the  Hebrew,  "He  spies  out  the  moun- 
tains as  his  pasture." 

296 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


9.  Will  the  ^  wild-ox  be  content  to  serve  thee  ? 

Or  will  he  abide  by  thy  crib  ? 

10.  ^  Canst  thou  bind  the  wild-ox  with  his  band  in 

the  furrow  ? 
Or  will  he  harrow  ^  the  valleys  after  thee  ? 

1 1 .  Wilt  thou  trust  him,  because  his  strength  is  great  ? 
Or  wilt  thou  leave  to  him  thy  labour  ? 

12.  Wilt  thou  confide  in  him,  that  he  will  bring  home 

thy  seed. 
And  gather  the  corn  of  thy  threshing-floor  ? 

13.  ^  The  wing  of  the  ostrich  rejoiceth ; 
But  are  her  pinions  and  feathers  ^  kindly  ? 

14.  For  she  leaveth  her  eggs  on  the  earth, 

1  m.  See  Num.  23 :  22.  2  Qr.  Syr.  Eth.  Ar.  Canst  thou  hind  his  neck  with  thongs? 
»  Gr.  OLat.  Eth.  thy  furrows.  *  Gr.  omits  vs.  13-18,  the  description  of  the  ostrich. 
6  Sym.  like  the  great  owl's,     m .  Or,  like  the  stork's. 

g.  Wild-ox.  The  Hebrew  word  is  the  same  here  as  the  As- 
syrian for  "wild-ox."  Assyrian  sculptures  picture  him  as  a  huge 
animal  of  the  bovine  variety,  belonging  to  a  species  now  extinct. 
Tiglathpileser  I  about  iioo  b.c.  regarded  it  as  a  great  feat  to 
have  killed  four  of  them,  and  later  Assyrian  kings  used  the  phrase 
"overran  his  land  like  a  wild-ox  "  as  a  synonym  for  great  destruc- 
tive power.  In  the  light  of  these  facts  the  question  in  our  verse 
is  most  significant. 

10.  The  wild-ox.  The  versions  show  that  this  has  been 
wrongly  repeated  from  v.  9.  We  gain  a  much  better  verse  if 
we  read  with  the  versions  cited : 

"Canst  thou  bind  with  thongs  his  neck? 
Or  will  he  harrow  thy  furrows  after  thee?  " 

13.  Are  her  pinions  and  feathers  kindly?  Symmachus  read, 
"like  the  great  owl's,"  and  the  margin  suggests,  "like  the  stork's." 
Ley  would  change  the  text  and  read  "Are  its  pinions  and  feathers 
too  short?  "  If  we  keep  the  text  as  it  stands,  the  explanation 
is  found  in  Lam.  4:3,  where  Israel  is  said  to  be  cruel  because, 
like  the  ostrich,  she  refuses  to  give  shelter  to  her  young.  The 
stork  was  called  "kindly,"  because  she  fondly  brooded  her  young. 
That  contrast  is  here  suggested. 

14.  Leaveth  her  eggs.  It  was  formerly  believed  that  the 
ostrich  did  not  sit  upon  her  eggs  at  all,  but  that  is  only  partially 

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And  warmeth  them  in  the  dust, 

15.  And  forgetteth  that  the  foot  may  crush  them, 
Or  that  the  wild  beast  may  trample  them. 

16.  She   ^  is  hardened  against   her   young   ones,   as  if 

they  were  not  hers : 
Though  her  labour  be  in  vain,  she  is  without  fear ; 

17.  Because  God  hath  ^  deprived  her  of  wisdom. 
Neither  hath  he  imparted  to  her  understanding. 

18.  What  time  she  ^  lifteth  up  herself  on  high. 
She  scorneth  the  horse  and  his  rider. 

19.  Hast  thou  given  the  horse  his  might  ? 

Hast  thou  clothed  his  neck  with  ^  the  quivering  mane  ? 

20.  Hast  thou  made  him  to  leap  as  a  locust  ? 


1  m.  Or,  dealeth  hardly  with.  2  m.  Heb.  made  her  to  forget  wisdom.  *  m.  Or, 

rouseth  herself  to  flight.  *  m.  Heb.  shaking. 

true.  She  does  not  brood  until  she  has  laid  her  full  complement 
of  thirty  eggs,  and  then  in  the  early  stages  of  incubation  often 
leaves  the  nest  by  day.  Toward  the  end  of  the  period,  however, 
she  does  not  leave  the  nest  at  all.  While  brooding  she  lays  a 
number  of  eggs  outside  the  nest  for  the  young  birds  to  eat  after 
they  are  hatched. 

16.  Young  ones.  This  is  used  by  anticipation;  it  is  really 
the  eggs  that  she  abandons.  Her  labour  be  in  vain.  That  is  in 
the  case  the  eggs  are  crushed  and  no  young  are  born. 

17.  Deprived  her  of  wisdom.  The  Arabs  have  a  proverbial 
saying,  ''more  stupid  than  an  ostrich."  One  of  their  poets  ex- 
plains that  it  is  because  she  abandons  her  eggs. 

18.  Lifteth  up  herself  on  high.  This  phrase  implies  flight  like 
other  birds,  and  that  is  just  what  the  ostrich  does  not  do.  With 
Wright  and  Budde  we  should  slightly  change  the  Hebrew  and 
read,  "What  time  the  archers  come."  Scorneth  the  horse.  She 
is  very  fleet  of  foot. 

19.  Quivering  mane.  The  word  does  not  occur  elsewhere  and 
perhaps  refers  to  the  arched  and  quivering  neck.  Whether  the 
mane  or  the  neck  is  designated,  it  was  thought  to  symbolize  the 
energy  and  spirit  of  a  noble  steed. 

20.  To  leap  as  a  locust.  In  Joel  2  :  4  and  Rev.  9  :  7  the  com- 
parison is  reversed. 

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THE   BOOK  OF  JOB  39 


The  glory  of  his  snorting  is  terrible. 

21.  1  He   paweth  in  the  valley,  and  rejoiceth  ^  in  his 

strength ; 
He  goeth  out  to  meet  ^  the  armed  men. 

22.  He  mocketh  at  fear,  and  is  not  dismayed; 
Neither  turneth  he  back  from  the  sword. 

23.  ^  The  quiver  rattleth  ^  against  him, 
The  flashing  spear  and  the  javelin. 

24.  He  swalloweth  the  ground  with  fierceness  and  rage ; 
®  Neither  ^  believeth  he    that  it  is  the  voice  of 

the  trumpet. 

25.  As  oft  as  the  trumpet  soundeth  he  saith,  Aha ! 
And  he  smelleth  the  battle  afar  off. 

The  thunder  of  the  captains,  and  the  shouting. 

26.  Doth  the  hawk  soar  by  thy  wisdom, 
And  stretch  her  wings  toward  the  south? 

27.  Doth  the  eagle  mount  up  at  thy  command, 

1  m.  Heb.  They  paw.      2  Heb.  in  strength.     Gr.  Eth.  connect  this  with  the  last  line. 
»  m.  Or,  the  weapons.         *  Gr.  Eth.   The  bow.  »  m.  Or,  upon.  «  m.  Or,  Neither 

standcth  he  still.  ''  Sym.  he  will  not  he  revealed.     Syr.  Ar.  he  is  not  afraid  of.     Vulg. 

he  does  not  run. 

21.  He  paweth.  The  Greek,  Syriac,  Vulgate,  and  Ethiopia 
versions  support  this  reading.  The  margin,  "They  paw,"  may 
be  disregarded.  In  his  strength.  Connect  this,  as  the  versions 
cited  do,  with  the  last  clause,  rendering : 

"He  paws  in  the  valley  and  rejoices; 
In  strength  he  goes  out  to  meet  armor." 
24.   He  swalloweth  the  ground.    A  poetic  figure  for  fleet  gallop- 
ing.    Neither  believeth  he  that  it  is.     Neither  the  text  nor  the 
margin  affords  a  good  sense.     Read  with  the  Syriac  and  Arabic 
versions : 

"Neither  is  he  afraid  of  the  voice  of  the  trumpet." 

26.  By  thy  wisdom.  Did  Job  teach  the  hawk  to  go  south- 
ward at  the  approach  of  winter?     Cf.  Jer.  8:  7. 

27.  Mount  up  at  thy  command.  The  lofty  flight  of  the  eagle 
has  impressed  men  of  every  age.     Did  Job  give  it  the  power? 

299 


28  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


And  make  her  nest  on  high  ? 

28.  She  dwelleth  on  the  rock,  and  hath  her  lodging  therCy 
Upon  the  crag  of  the  rock,  and  the  strong  hold. 

29.  From  thence  she  spieth  out  the  prey ; 
Her  eyes  behold  it  afar  off. 

30.  Her  young  ones  also  ^  suck  up  blood : 
And  where  the  slain  are,  there  is  she. 

40.        2  Moreover  the  Lord  answered  Job,  and  said, 

2.  Shall  he  that  cavilleth  contend  with  the  Almighty  ? 
He  that  argueth  with  God,  let  him  answer  it. 

2.   Job  declines  to  answer,  40 :  3-5 

3.  Then  Job  answered  the  Lord,  and  said, 

4.  Behold,    I    am    of    small    account;    what   shall   I 

answer  thee  ? 

^  Gr.  OLat.  are  rolled  in.     Aq.  Sym.  Syr.  Vulg.  Targ.  Ar.  suck  blood.  ^  i  Heb. 

MS.  and  Gr.  omit  this  verse. 

30.  Suck  up.  Read  rather  with  Aquila  and  the  kindred 
versions,  "suck  blood."  Ahhough  birds  are  not  mammals,  it  is 
bold  poetic  metaphor,  and  expresses  the  fact  that  eaglets  are 
nurtured  on  blood. 

(6)    Jehovah  calls  upon  Job  to  answer-  him,  40:  i,  2 

1.  Moreover  the  Lord  answered  Job.  This  verse  is,  like  27:1; 
29 :  I ;  34 :  I ;  35:1;  and  36  :  i,  an  editorial  addition.  It  should 
be  omitted.     Verse  2  connects  directly  with  39 :  30. 

2.  Shall  he  that  cavilleth.  Literally,  "Will  a  fault-finder 
contend  with  the  Almighty?  "  This  connects  directly  with  39: 
30.  God  has  shown  in  chs.  38,  39  how  ignorant  Job  is  of  the 
universe  and  of  hfe.  He  is  not  an  intelligent  critic  of  it,  but 
simply  a  fault-finder.  Does  he  have  the  temerity  to  contend 
with  the  Almighty?  Let  him  answer.  The  address  of  God  here 
reverts  to  the  demand  made  in  38 :  3.  Job  had  there  been 
warned  that  he  would  be  called  upon  to  answer,  as  he  had  pre- 
viously declared  he  would  be  glad  to  do.  Having  probed  his 
ignorance,  Jehovah  returns  to  this  demand.  It  refers  to  the  dis- 
play of  God's  glory  and  power  in  creation. 

4.  I  am  of  small  accoimt.  To  come  face  to  face  with  the 
Creator  and  Sustainer  of  the  mysteries  of  life  had  made  Job 

300 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB  40:8 


I  lay  mine  hand  upon  my  mouth. 

5.  Once  have  I  spoken,  and  I  will  not  answer ; 
Yea  twice,  but  I  will  proceed  no  further. 

3.   Jehovah's  Second  Address  to  Job,  40 :  6-14 

6.  Then  the  Lord  answered  Job  out  of  the  whirlwind, 

and  said, 

7.  Gird  up  thy  loins  now  ^  like  a  man : 

I  will  demand  of  thee,  and  declare  thou  unto  me. 

8.  Wilt  thou  even  disannul  my  judgement  ? 

Wilt  thou  condemn  me,  that  thou  mayest  be  justified  ? 

1  Syr.  At.  like  a  mighty  man. 

rfeel  his  own  insignificance.  This  was  the  first  step  necessary  to 
a  healthy  frame  of  mind.  His  sufferings,  as  is  shown  by  his 
earlier  speeches,  had  made  him  extremely  egotistical ;  the  uni- 
verse seemed  to  centre  in  him.  He  now  realizes  what  an  atom  he 
is.     Lay  my  hand  upon  my  mouth.     In  token  of  silence. 

5.  Once  .  .  .  twice.  A  Hebrew  way  of  saying  "a  few  times ;  " 
see  note  on  5  :  19.  I  will  not  answer.  Many  scholars,  by  chang- 
ing one  letter  of  the  Hebrew,  read,  "I  will  not  repeat  it."  Job's 
submission  at  this  point  is,  as  Marshall  has  pointed  out,  a  sullen 
submission.  He  bows  to  a  superior  power.  Peake  objects  to 
this  view  on  the  ground  that  the  second  speech  of  Jehovah  is  of 
the  same  character  as  the  first,  and  was  no  more  likely  than  that 
to  produce  real  repentance,  and  that  the  penitence  was  caused  by 
the  vision  of  God  itself,  and  not  by  what  God  said.  While  Peake 
is  quite  right  in  this,  he  has  overlooked  the  fact  that  it  takes 
time  for  a  strong  man  to  change  his  mind.  By  picturing  Job  as 
at  first  a  little  sullen  the  poet  has  portrayed  a  psychological 
reality.  It  took  the  vision  of  God  a  little  time  to  exercise  its 
softening  influences   upon   Job. 

6.  Out  of  the  whirlwind.  These  words  are  probably  a  gloss 
introduced  from  38:1.  The  verse  probably  read,  "  Then  the  Lord 
answered  Job  and  said." 

7.  Gird  up  thy  loins  now.  This  verse  is  a  gloss.  It  is  a  repe- 
tition of  38 :  3. 

8.  Disannul  my  judgement.  Deny  my  rectitude  as  Ruler  of 
the  world.  This  verse  should  follow  immediately  on  v.  6.  Con- 
demn me.  A  justification  of  Job's  utterances  would  be  a  con- 
demnation   of    God.  J 

301 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


9.      Or  hast  thou  an  arm  like  God  ? 

And  canst  thou  thunder  with  a  voice  like  him  ? 

10.  Deck  thyself  now  with  excellency  and  dignity ; 
And  array  thyself  with  honour  and  majesty. 

11.  ^  Pour  forth  the  overflowings  of  thine  anger  : 

And  look  upon  every  one  that  is  proud,  and  abase  him. 

1 2 .  Look  on  2  every  one  that  is  proud,  and  bring  him  low ; 
And  tread  down  the  wicked  ^  where  they  stand. 

13.  Hide  them  in  the  dust  together ; 
Bind  their  faces  in  the  hidden  place. 

14.  Then  will  I  also  confess  of  thee 

That  thine  own  right  hand  can  save  thee. 

1  Gr.  Eth.  Send  forth  the  messengers.  2  Gr.  Eth.  every  high  one.  '  Gr.  Eth. 

immediately. 

9.  An  arm  like  God.  The  appeal  is  not  to  God's  goodness,  — 
that  the  poet  did  not,  perhaps,  fully  discern,  —  nor  to  his  wisdom, 
but  to  his  power.  However,  as  power  is  treated  in  the  following 
verses  it  is  not  presented  in  an  offensive  aspect,  and  the  choice  is 
justified.  Power  as  the  poet  presents  it  turns  out  to  be  power 
guided  by  wisdom.  Thunder  with  a  voice.  The  thunder  was 
regarded  by  the  Hebrews  as  the  voice  of  God.  It  is  referred  to 
because  of  the  loudness  of  thunder.  The  following  verses  imply 
that  one  must  speak  in  stentorian  tones  even  louder  than  thunder 
to  make  the  ungodly  obey. 

10.  Deck  thyself  now  with  excellency.  The  verse  begins  a  fine 
bit  of  irony. 

11.  Overflowings.  Read  with  the  versions  cited  "messengers 
of  thy  anger."  Look  upon.  This  has  crept  back  here  from  v.  12. 
We  should  read  the  line,  "  And  every  proud  one  —  humble  him." 

12.  Everyone  that  is  proud.  Read  with  the  versions  cited 
"every  high  one."  It  makes  better  poetry,  and  the  contrast 
with  "humbling  "  is  stronger.  Where  they  stand.  Read  with  the 
versions,  "immediately."  Job  in  his  impatience  had  seemed  to 
demand  such  sudden  destruction  as  a  characteristic  of  real  justice. 

13.  Hide  them  in  the  dust.  As  "tread  down"  in  v.  12  means 
"kill,"  so  "hide  in  the  dust  "  means  "bury  them."  The  hidden 
place.     Apparently  Sheol. 

14.  Confess  of  thee.  Better,  "praise  thee."  Thine  own 
right  hand  can  save  thee.     If  Job  can  do  away  with  sin  and 

302 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


4.   TJte  Interpolation  concerning  the  Hippopotamus  and  the 
Crocodile,  40 :  15-41 :  34 

15.  Behold  now  ^  behemoth,^  which  I  made  with  thee ; 

He  eateth  grass  as  an  ox. 

1  m.  That  is,  the  hippopotamus.  2  Qx.  Sah.  omit  which  I  made. 

sinners,  then  God  will  praise  him  as  a  man  able  to  save  himself. 
The  turn  of  the  thought  is  unexpected ;  we  should  anticipate 
from  the  preceding  argument  that  God  would  have  said,  "that 
thou  art  able  to  rule  the  world."  In  the  last  analysis,  however, 
it  was  his  own  deliverance  as  an  honest  man  in  which  Job  was 
most  deeply  interested.  The  problems  of  the  world  engaged  his 
thought  only  as  they  affected  his  own  fortunes.  The  turn  given 
this  expression  therefore  exactly  suits  Job's  case.  Probably,  too, 
the  remark  is  ironical.  If  Job  meted  out  punishment  to  the 
wicked  so  remorselessly,  would  he  not  be  doing  in  this  mixed  world 
just  the  kind  of  injustice  that  he  has  accused  God  of  doing  to 
him?  His  assertions  of  purity  have  savored  also  of  arrogance; 
to  ruthlessly  destroy  others  would  but  express  and  increase  that 
arrogance.  The  irony  is  not,  however,  of  a  hard  and  unfeeling 
sort.  Job's  answer  in  ch.  42,  which  originally  immediately 
followed  this,  shows  that  the  influence  of  the  presence  of  the 
Infinite  had  now  had  time  to  touch  the  springs  of  his  being  and 
bring  him  to  a  better  frame  of  mind. 

15.  Behemoth.  The  word  is  the  plural  of  the  Hebrew  word 
for  "animal"  or  "  cattle."  The  description  which  follows,  how- 
ever, shows  that  it  is  used  here  as  a  singular  and  as  the  proper 
name  of  some  animal.  The  margin  tells  us  that  this  animal  is 
the  hippopotamus  and  in  this  most  interpreters  agree.  Some, 
however,  claim  that  it  is  a  purely  mythological  being  like  Rahab 
(see  notes  on  9  :  13 ;  26:  12).  It  is  true  that  in  Enoch  60:  7,  8 
leviathan  and  behemoth  have  both  become  mythical  monsters, 
but  the_  definiteness  of  the  description  here  and  its  appHcability 
to  the  hippopotamus  and  the  crocodile  make  it  most  probable  that 
these  actual  animals  are  referred  to.  The  whole  section  is,  how- 
ever, a  later  addition.  It  interrupts  the  thought  of  the  poem, 
which  has  prepared  the  reader  for  Job's  submission.  If  the  pas- 
sage were  genuine  it  should  have  come  in  with  the  other  description 
of  animals  in  ch.  39.  Moreover  its  poetry  is  distinctly  inferior 
to  that  of  the  addresses  of  Jehovah.  It  was  evidently  added 
by  some  Jew  who  had  lived  in  Egypt,  where  he  had  seen  these 

303 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


1 6.  Lo  now,  his  strength  is  in  his  loins, 

And  his  force  is  in  the  muscles  of  his  belly. 

17.  He  moveth  his  tail  like  a  cedar : 

The  sinews  of  his  thighs  are  knit  together. 

18.  His  bones  are  as  tubes  of  brass ; 
His  ^  limbs  are  like  bars  of  iron. 

19.  He  is  the  chief  of  the  ways  of  God : 

2  He  07tly  ^  that  made  him  can  make  ^  his  sword 
to  approach  imto  him. 

20.  ^  Surely  the  mountains  bring  him  forth  food ; 
^  Where  all  the  beasts  of  the  field  ^  do  play. 

21.  He  lieth  under  the  lotus  trees, 

In  the  covert  of  the  reed,  and  the  fen. 

1  m.  Or,  ribs.  2  m.  Or,  He  that  made  him  hath  furnished  him  with  his  sword.  »  Gr. 
Sym.  Sah.  Eth.  he  was  made  to  be  served.  •«  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  by  his  messengers.  ^  Gr. 
Sah.  Eth.  When  he  goes  to  the  high  mountains.  ^  Gr.  Syr.  Sah.  Eth.  Ar.  omit  Where. 
^  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  he  makes  glad. 

animals,  and  who  thought  that  the  argument  for  the  great  power 
of  God  as  displayed  in  the  animal  world  was  not  complete  with- 
out a  reference  to  the  two  most  remarkable  animals  he  had  ever 
seen.  Which  I  made.  The  line  in  the  Hebrew  is  too  long.  We 
should  omit  these  words  with  the  Greek  and  Sahidic  versions. 

17.  His  tail  like  a  cedar.  Better  "his  tail  is  like  cedar." 
Commentators  have  found  in  this  a  gross  exaggeration.  The 
tail  of  the  hippopotamus  is  short  and  stumpy,  and  they  have  under- 
stood cedar  as  though  it  were  a  cedar  tree.  It  can  as  well  be 
a  cedar  log,  however,  and  the  poet  is  saying  that  the  tail  of  the 
hippopotamus  is  Hke  a  cedar  log,  straight  and  strong. 

19.  He  only  that  made  him  can  make  his  sword  to  approach 
unto  him.  Neither  the  text  nor  the  margin  of  RV  gives  an 
appropriate  thought.  The  Hebrew  text  is  clearly  corrupt.  As 
several  scholars  have  seen,  we  should  emend  on  the  basis  of  the 
versions  cited  and  read  : 

"He  was  made  as  ruler  of  his  fellows." 

20.  Surely  the  mountains  bring  him  forth  food.  Read  with 
the  versions  cited,  "When  he  goes  to  the  high  mountains."  The 
hippopotamus  is  said  to  go  to  the  hills  when  food  along  the  river 
fails.  Where  all  the  beasts  of  the  field  do  play.  Again  read  with 
the  versions,  "He  makes  glad  all  the  beasts  of  the  field."     The 

304 


THE   BOOK  OF  JOB  41 


22.  1  The  lotus  trees  cover  him  with  their  shadow  ; 
The  willows  of  the  brook  compass  him  about. 

23.  Behold,  if  a  river  ^  overflow,  he  trembleth  not : 
He  is  confident,  though  Jordan  swell  even  to  his 

mouth. 

24.  Shall  any  take  him  when  he  is  on  the  watch, 
Or  pierce  through  his  nose  with  a  snare  ? 

40.  Canst  thou  draw  out  ^  leviathan  with  a  fish  hook  ? 

Or  ^  press  down  his  tongue  with  a  cord  ? 

1  Aq.  Theod.  Sjn-.  Hex.  Their  shade  covers  him.  Sym.  (Syr.  Hex.)  They  are  over- 
shadowed by  the  shade.  Syr.  Vulg.  Targ.  Ar.  Under  the  (or  its)  shade  he  sleeps.  2  m. 
Or,  be  violent.         3  m.  That  is,  the  crocodile.         «  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  bind  his  nose. 

Other  animals  are  conceived  to  be  glad  that  this  monster  is  out 
of  the  way. 

22.  The  lotus  trees  cover  him  with  their  shadow.  Many 
modern  interpreters  have  thought  the  text  corrupt  because  the 
"lotus  trees  "  are  mentioned  again.  A  glance  at  the  readings  of 
the  versions  cited  above  confirms  this  view  and  reveals  the  fact 
that  none  of  the  versions  except  the  Greek  and  its  followers  read 
"lotus  trees  "  in  the  verse.  Probably  we  should  read  with  the 
Syriac  and  kindred  versions,  "Under  their  shade  he  sleeps." 

23.  Though  Jordan  swell.  Hippopotami  are  not  found  in  the 
Jordan;  some  scholars  would  accordingly  read  here  "Nile" 
instead  —  a  change  which  would  be  very  easy  in  the  Hebrew. 
It  may  be,  though,  that  we  should,  as  some  interpreters  do, 
render  "a  Jordan  "  and  regard  the  name  as  a  designation  of  a 
swiftly  flowing  stream.  On  the  whole,  however,  it  is  more 
probable  that  the  reference  is  to  the  annual  overflow  of  the  Nile, 
and  that  "Nile"  stood  originally  in  the  text,  and  that  some  de- 
vout scribe  changed  it  to  Jordan. 

24.  Shall  any  take  him  when  he  is  on  the  watch.  Literally, 
"Will  one  take  him  by  the  eyes?  "  i.e.  Will  one  be  bold  enough 
to  attack  him  in  the  eyes?  Pierce  through  his  nose.  A  refer- 
ence to  his  broad,  thick,  impenetrable  nose. 

I.  Leviathan.  The  margin  tells  us  that  the  crocodile  is 
intended,  and  so  most  interpreters  agree.  In  Job  3:8;  Isa. 
27:1;  and  Enoch  60 :  7  the  name  Leviathan  is  used  of  a  mytho- 
logical, writhing,  snake-like  being,  who  was  no  doubt  originally 
identical  with  Rahab  or  the  primitive  sea-monster  Tiamat  of 
Babylonian  mythology.     On  Babylonian  seals  Tiamat  is  some- 

X  305 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


2.  Canst  thou  put  ^  a  rope  into  his  nose  ? 
Or  pierce  his  jaw  through  with  a  ^  hook  ? 

3.  Will  he  make  many  supplications  unto  thee  ? 
Or  will  he  speak  soft  words  unto  thee  ? 

4.  Will  he  make  a  covenant  with  thee, 

That  thou  shouldest  take  him  for  a  servant  for 
ever? 

5.  Wilt  thou  play  with  him  as  with  a  bird  ? 
Or  wilt  thou  bind  him  for  thy  maidens  ? 

6.  Shall  the  bands  of  fishermen  make  traffic  of  him  ? 
3  Shall  they  part  him  among  the  merchants  ? 

»  m.  Heb.  a  rope  of  rushes.  2  m.  Or,  spike.  ^  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  Shall  tJte  sons 

of  the  Canaaniks  part  him  ? 

times  pictured  as  a  writhing  serpent.  Some  scholars  insist  that 
the  description  in  this  chapter  fits  such  a  mythological  monster 
far  better  than  the  crocodile,  and  it  is  true  that  vs.  19-21  below 
bear  out  this  statement.  The  chapter  as  a  whole  is,  however, 
appropriate  to  the  crocodile,  and  in  the  verses  mentioned  the 
poet  has  been  led  by  mythological  reminiscences  to  color  too 
highly  his  picture  of  a  real  animal. 

2.  A  rope  into  his  nose.  Some  suppose  the  reference  to  be 
to  the  insertion  of  a  rope  analogous  to  the  cord  which  was  in- 
serted through  the  gills  of  fish  after  they  were  caught  in  order 
that  they  might  be  returned  to  the  water  and  kept  fresh.  It  is 
more  probable  that  the  reference  is  to  a  rope  attached  to  a  ring 
in  the  nose  of  an  animal  by  which  he  could  be  led.  Pierce  his 
jaw  through  with  a  hook.  Read  "hook  "  with  the  text  and  not 
"spike  "  as  the  margin  has  it.  The  reference  is  to  the  insertion 
of  hooks  such  as  are  pictured  on  Assyrian  sculptures  inserted 
into  the  lips  or  jaws  of  captives  to  which  a  cord  for  leading  them 
could  be  attached.  The  jaw  of  the  crocodile  does  not  lend  itself 
to  such  perforation. 

3.  Will  he  make  many  supplications  ?  An  ironical  question. 
The  crocodile  does  not  supplicate ;    he  fights. 

4.  Take  him  for  a  servant.  That  is,  "Will  he  become  one  of 
thy  domesticated  animals?  " 

5.  Bind  him  for  thy  maidens.  That  is,  make  a  pet  of  him,  as 
one  would  of  a  bird. 

6.  Bands  of  fishermen.  The  fishers'  guilds.  Shall  they  part 
him  among  the  merchants  ?     The  versions  cited  by  the  trans- 

306 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB  41 


7.  Canst  thou  fill  his  skin  with  barbed  irons, 
Or  his  head  with  fish  spears  ? 

8.  Lay  thine  hand  upon  him ; 
Remember  the  battle,  and  do  so  no  more. 

9.  Behold,  ^  the  hope  of  him  is  in  vain : 

2  Shall  not  one  be  cast  down  even  at  the  sight  of 
him? 

10.  None  is  ^  so  fierce  that  he  dare  stir  him  up : 
Who  then  is  he  that  can  stand  before  ^  me  ? 

11.  5  Who  hath  first  given  unto  me,  that  I  should 

repay  him  ? 

1 1  Heb.  MS.  thy  hope.  Syr.  Ar.  thy  foot.  2  Sym.  But  even  God  shall  cast  down  the 
sight  of  him.  Syr.  Ar.  But  God  shall  destroy  his  rebellion.  ^  Syr.  Ar.  so  distant.  *  27 
Heb.  MSS.  Targ.  him.       ^  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  Has  one  opposed  himself  to  me  and  been  safe? 

position  of  two  Hebrew  letters  gained  the  reading,  "  Shall  the 
sons  of  the  Canaanites  part  him?  "  The  meaning  is  the  same 
as  that  of  the  Hebrew  text,  for  the  Canaanites  were  such  traders 
that  to  the  Hebrews  "  Canaanite  "  became  synonymous  with 
*' merchant."  This  is  the  case  in  Hos.  12:8;  Isa.  23  :  8;  Zeph. 
i:ii;    Ezek.   17:4;    Pr.  31 :  24. 

7.  Barbed  irons  .  .  .  fish  spears.  Harpoons  were  known 
to  the  ancients,  but  the  hide  of  the  crocodile  was  too  tough  to  be 
penetrated.  Herodotus,  II,  70,  describes  how  the  crocodile  was 
caught  by  baiting  a  large  hook  with  a  living  pig. 

8.  Remember  the  battle,  and  do  so  no  more.  One  encounter 
with  such  a  beast  is  enough ;  one  will  not  wish  to  repeat  the  ex-^ 
perience. 

9.  Behold,  the  hope  of  him.  Read  with  one  Heb.  MS.  "thy 
hope,"  i.e.  thy  hope  of  taking  him.  The  Syriac  and  Arabic 
versions  support  this  reading,  though  in  them  "hope"  was 
corrupted  to  "foot."  In  vain.  The  Hebrew  has  "is  falsified." 
Shall  not  one  be  cast  down  at  the  sight  of  him?  Symmachus 
and  the  Syriac  had  different  readings,  as  noted  above.  They 
show  us  that  probably  the  original  reading  of  the  Hebrew  was, 
"Has  not  God  hurled  his  terror  abroad?  "  That  is,  made  the 
terror  inspired  by  the  crocodile  of  wide  extent. 

10.  Before  me.  Read  with  the  Targum  and  27  Heb.  MSS., 
"before   him." 

11.  Who  hath  first  given  unto  me,  that  I  should  repay  him? 
This  question  as  it  stands  conveys  no  clear  meaning.     We  should 

307 


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Whatsoever  is  under  the  whole  heaven  is  mine. 

12.  ^  I  will  not  keep  silence  concerning  his  Hmbs, 

2  Nor  his  mighty  strength,  ^  nor  his  comely  proportion. 

13.  Who  can  ^  strip  off  his  outer  garment  ? 
Who  shall  come  within  his  ^  double  bridle  ? 

14.  Who  can  open  the  doors  of  his  ^  face  ? 
^  Round  about  his  teeth  is  terror. 

15.  His  ^  strong  scales  are  ^  his  pride, 

^°  Shut  up  together  as  with  a  close  seal. 

16.  One  is  so  near  to  another, 


1  Syr.  At.  7  will  not  be  silent  as  to  his  strength.  Targ.  I  will  not  be  silent  concerning 
his  falsity.     Vulg.  /  will  not  spare  him.  *  Syr.  Ax.  And  as  to  the  mighty  tendons. 

'  Syr.  Ar.  omit  nor  his  comely  proportion.  *  m.  Heb.  uncover  the  face  of  his  garment. 

»  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  his  breastplate.  ^  Syr.  Ar.  mouth.  ''  m.  Or,  His  teeth  are  terrible 

round  about.  »  m.  Or,  courses  of  scales.     Heb.  channels  of  shields.  »  Gr.  OLat. 

Aq.  Vulg.  Sah.  Eth.  his  back.        ^°  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  Its  ligament  is  a  seal  of  stone. 

probably  read  with  the  versions  cited,  *'Has  one  opposed  himself 
to  me  and  been  safe?  "  Whatsoever  is  under  the  whole  heaven 
is  mine.  If  we  follow  the  versions  in  the  preceding  line  we  should 
change  one  letter  of  the  Hebrew  here  and  read,  "Under  the  whole 
heaven  not  one."  When  the  two  parts  of  the  verse  are  read  thus 
two  interpretations  are  possible  :  (i)  it  may  be  considered  an 
utterance  of  God,  stating  that  God  is  stronger  than  Leviathan ; 
or  (2)  it  may  be  regarded  as  the  boastings  of  a  huntsman. 

12.  I  will  not  keep  silence  concerning  his  limbs.  The  verse 
is  inappropriate  in  a  soliloquy  of  God,  though  perhaps  it  might 
not  be  on  the  lips  of  a  hunter.  The  variations  of  the  versions 
show  that  the  text  is  corrupt.  Probably  we  should  emend  with 
the  Syriac  and  Arabic,  so  as  to  read, 

"I  will  not  keep  silent  concerning  his  strength, 
Nor  his  mighty  tendons,  nor  his  warlike  outfit." 

The  verse  is  then  the  poet's  introduction  to  the  following  de- 
scription. 

13.  Double  bridle.  Read  with  the  versions  cited,  "his  breast- 
plate." 

14.  His  face.     Read  with  the  versions  cited,  "his  mouth." 

15.  His  strong  scales  are  his  pride.  Read  with  the  versions 
cited,  "His  back  is  channels  of  shields  "  —  a  poetical  description 
of  scales.  Shut  up  together  as  with  a  close  seal.  Read  with  the 
versions  cited,  "Its  ligament  is  a  seal  of  stone." 

308 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB  41  :  24 


That  ^  no  air  can  come  between  them. 

17.  They  are  joined  one  to  another ; 

They  stick  together,  that  they  cannot  be  sundered. 

18.  His  ^  neesings  flash  forth  Hght, 

And  his  eyes  are  Hke  the  eyeHds  of  the  morning. 

19.  Out  of  his  mouth  go  burning  torches, 
And  sparks  of  fire  ^  leap  forth. 

20.  Out  of  his  nostrils  a  smoke  goeth, 

As  of  a  seething  pot  ^  and  burning  rushes. 

21.  His  breath  kindleth  coals, 

And  a  flame  goeth  forth  from  his  mouth. 

22.  In  his  neck  abide th  strength, 
And  ^  terror  danceth  before  him. 

23.  The  flakes  of  his  flesh  are  joined  together : 
They  are  firm  upon  him ;  they  cannot  be  moved. 

24.  His  heart  is  as  firm  as  a  stone ; 

®  Yea,  firm  as  the  nether  millstone. 

1  Aq.  Sym.  no  space.  2  Gr.  Aq.  Vulg.  Targ.  Sah.  Eth.  sneezing.  s  gyr. 

Vulg.  Kr.  flame  forth.         *  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  with  a  fire  of  coals.     Syr.  Vulg.  Ar.  that  boils. 
'  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  destruction  runs  before  him.  ^  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  And  it  stands.    Syr. 

Ar.  And  strong. 

18.  His  neesings  flash  forth  light.  Read  with  the  versions 
cited,  "His  sneezing  flashes."  A  poetical  description  of  how  the 
spray  from  his  nostrils  flashes  in  the  sunlight. 

19.  Burning  torches  .  .  .  sparks  of  fire.  In  this  and  the  two 
verses  that  follow  there  is  some  exaggeration,  induced,  perhaps, 
by  the  recollection  of  a  description  of  a  mythical  monster. 

20.  And  burning  rushes.  Perhaps  we  should  read  as  the  Greek 
does,  "with  a  fire  of  coals,"  or  as  the  Syriac  does,  "that  boils." 

21.  His  breath  kindleth  coals.  Evidently  an  exaggeration 
due  to   mythological  influence. 

22.  Terror  danceth.  The  Hebrew  has  "faintness  danceth." 
It  is  better  to  read  with  the  versions  cited,  "destruction  runs." 

23.  The  flakes  of  his  flesh.  The  parts  beneath  the  neck  and 
belly.  In  most  animals  these  hang  down  soft  and  flexible,  but 
in  the  crocodile  they  are  hard  and  firm. 

24.  Yea,  firm  as.  Even  if  we  emend  with  the  Greek  or  the 
Syriac,  the  thought  remains  the  same.     Nether   millstone.     It 

309 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


25.  When  he  raise th  himself  up,  the  mighty  are  afraid : 
By  reason  of  consternation  they  are  beside  them- 
selves. 

26.  ^  If  one  lay  at  him  with  the  sword,  it  cannot  avail ; 
Nor  the  spear,  the  dart,  nor  the   ^  pointed  shaft. 

27.  He  counteth  iron  as  straw, 
And  brass  as  rotten  wood. 

28.  The  ^  arrow  cannot  make  him  flee : 
SHngstones  are  turned  with  him  into  stubble. 

29.  Clubs  are  counted  ^  as  stubble : 

He  laugheth  at  the  rushing  of  the  javehn. 

30.  His  underparts  are  like  sharp  potsherds : 

He  spreadeth  as  it  were  a  threshing  wain  upon 
the  mire. 

31.  He  maketh  the  deep  to  boil  like  a  pot : 
He  maketh  the  sea  like  ointment. 


^  I  Heb.  MS.  Gr.  Sym.  Sah.  Eth.  //  the  swd^d  touch  him.  2  ni.  Qr,  coat  of  mail. 

»  m.  Heb.  son  of  the  bow.  *  Gr.  Aq.  Sym.  Theod.  Eth.  like  reeds. 

was  proverbially  hard,  as  it  had  to  bear  all  the  wear  and  tear  of 
the  upper  stone. 

25.  The  mighty.  Literally,  "the  gods."  By  reason  of  con- 
sternation they.  Read  with  the  versions  cited,  "The  mighty 
ones."  This  makes  good  sense,  if  we  translate  "the  gods"  in 
the  preceding  line.  In  poetry  such  polytheistic  language  is 
possible  even  to  a  monotheist. 

26.  If  one  lay  at  him  with  the  sword.  Read  with  the  versions, 
"If  the  sword  touch  him."  Pointed  shaft.  The  marginal  read- 
ing, "coat  of  mail,"  is  not  suitable  here. 

29.  As  stubble.     Read  with  the  versions  cited,  "like  reeds." 

30.  His  underparts  are  like  sharp  potsherds.  The  scales  of 
his  belly  are  likened  to  sharp  spikes,  which  leave  a  track  in  the 
mud  as  he  passes  over.  Modern  scholars  differ  as  to  whether 
this  is  or  is  not  true,  but  if  in  this  age  of  science  there  is  doubt 
about  it,  too  great  exactness  cannot  be  demanded  of  an  ancient 
poet. 

31.  Like  ointment.  Beaten  to  a  foam  to  mix  the  different 
ingredients. 

310 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


2)2.  He  maketh  a  path  to  shine  after  him ; 

One  would  think  the  deep  to  be  hoary. 
2,2,-  Upon  earth  there  is  not  his  Uke, 

That  is  made  without  fear. 
34.  He  beholdeth  every  thing  that  is  high : 

He  is  king  ^  over  all  the  ^  sons  of  pride. 

5.   JoVs  Final  Reply,  42  :  1-6 
42.  Then  Job  answered  the  Lord,  and  said, 

2.  I  know  that  thou  canst  do  all  things, 

And  that  ^  no  purpose  of  thine  can  be  restrained. 

3.  ■*  Who    is    this    that    hideth    counsel  ^    without 

knowledge  ? 
Therefore  have  I  uttered  that  which  I  understood 
not, 

1  Gr.  Syr.  Sah.  Eth.  Ar.  and  perhaps  Targ.  over  all  creeping  things.     2  m.  See  28 :  8. 
2  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  nothing  is  impossible  for  thee.  *  m.  See  38:  2.         *  Qr.  OLat.  Syr. 

Sah.  Eth.  Ar.  add  with  words. 

32.  A  path  to  shine  after  him.  As  in  the  wake  of  a  modern 
steamship. 

34.  He  beholdeth  everything  that  is  high.  This  gives  in  the 
context  a  very  unsatisfactory  meaning.  It  is  better  to  make 
two  slight  changes  in  the  Hebrew,  as  most  modern  scholars  do, 
and  translate, 

"Every  one  that  is  high  feareth  him." 

All  the  sons  of  pride.     Read  with  the  versions,  "over  all  creep- 
ing things."     He  is  the  king  of  reptiles  as  the  lion  is  king  of  beasts. 

1.  Then  Job  answered  the  Lord  and  said.  This  verse  should 
follow  immediately  upon  40:15.  The  interpolations  concern- 
ing the  hippopotamus  and  crocodile  have  now  separated  Job's 
final  reply  from  Jehovah's  last  address. 

2.  No  purpose  of  thine  can  be  restrained.  Read  with  the 
versions  cited,  "nothing  is  impossible  for  thee." 

3 .  Who  is  this  that  hideth  counsel  without  knowledge  ?  T !  ese 
words  are  a  gloss  which  has  crept  in  here  from  38 :  2.  Prob- 
ably some  one  wrote  them  on  the  margin  as  an  appropriate 
comment,  and  from  that  they  were  copied  into  the  text.  There- 
fore have  I  uttered  that  which  I  understood  not.     The  vision  of 

311 


THE  BOOK   OF  JOB 


Things  too  wonderful  for  me,  which  I  knew  not. 

4.  Hear,  I  beseech  thee,  and  I  will  speak ; 

^  I  will  demand  of  thee,  and  declare  thou  unto  me. 

5.  I  had  heard  of  thee  by  the  hearing  of  the  ear ; 
But  now  mine  eye  seeth  thee, 

6.  Wherefore  ^  I  abhor  myself ,  and  repent 
In  dust  and  ashes. 

»  m.  See  38 :  2  ;  40:  7.  2  Syr.  Ar.  /  am  silent,    m.  Or,  loathe  my  words. 

God  had  made  Job  conscious  of  the  limitation  both  of  his  intelli- 
gence and  power.  He  confesses  now  that  he  has  acted  unad- 
visedly.    The  line  should  follow  immediately  on  v,  2. 

4.  Hear,  I  beseech  thee,  and  I  will  speak.  This  verse  is  a  gloss 
and  should  be  removed.  The  second  line  of  it  is  quoted  from 
38 :  3,  and  the  first  line  was  apparently  composed  to  make 
the  second  one  fit.  The  whole  is  inappropriate  on  the  lips  of 
Job  and  mars  his  beautiful  submission.  Some  have  supposed 
that  the  words  are  spoken  by  Jehovah,  who  interrupted  Job,  but 
that,  too,  is  inappropriate  and  would  mar  the  beauty  and  dignity 
of  the  conclusion. 

5.  Heard  of  thee  .  .  .  seeth  thee.  These  words  give  us  the 
climax  of  the  whole  book.  Job's  previous  knowledge  of  God  had 
been  based  on  the  experiences  and  traditions  of  other  people; 
the  vision  of  God  had  given  him  a  first-hand  experience.  From 
his  second-hand  knowledge  he  had  reasoned  erroneously  and 
foolishly ;  his  first-hand  experience  had  given  him  a  clearer  vision 
which  at  once  humbled,  purified,  and  exalted  him. 

6.  Wherefore  I  abhor  myself.  One  of  the  lines  of  the  verse  is 
too  short.  It  is  probable,  as  the  margin  of  RV  suggests,  that 
something  has  fallen  out  of  the  text.     Probably  we  should  read : 

"  Wherefore  I  abhor  my  words. 
And  repent  in  dust  and  ashes." 
The  vision  of  God  had  brought  Job  to  penitence  and  reconcilia- 
tion with  his  Creator  and  with  life.  The  poet  purposely  repre- 
sented Jehovah  as  presenting  no  real  answer  to  Job's  problems. 
Like  the  three  friends,  only  in  a  more  majestic  and  powerful  way, 
Jehovah  presents  the  marvels  of  God's  power,  the  insignificance 
of  man,  and  the  inability  of  a  mortal  either  to  understand  or  to 
order  the  mysteries  of  life.  Not  one  of  God's  passionate  in- 
quiries has  been  answered,  and  yet  Job  is  satisfied.  The  vision 
of  God  has  convinced  him  that,  though  he  cannot  understand, 
there  is  One  who  can.     It  has  taught  him  to  trust  his  life,  his 

312 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


VT.  The  Epilogue,  42:7-17 

7.  And  it  was  so  that  after  the  Lord  had  spoken 
1  these  words  unto  Job,  the  Lord  said  to  EHphaz  the 
Temanite,  2  My  wrath  is  kindled  against  thee,  and 
against  thy  two  friends :  for  ye  have  not  spoken  ^  of 
me    the    thing    that    is    right,   as    my  servant   Job 

8.  hath.     Now  therefore,  take  unto  you  seven  bullocks 

1  Gr.  Sah.  all  these  words.  2  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.    Thou  hast  sinned.  3  Gr.  Syr. 

Sah.  At.  Eth.  before  me. 

fortunes,  his  fate  to  that  One,  and  to  go  peacefully  forward, 
happy  in  the  life  of  trust  and  communion  with  God. 
'-  It  is  thus  that  this  greatest  of  Hebrew  poets  —  sage  though 
he  was  —  brings  out  with  dramatic  force  the  great  lesson  that  the 
final  solution  of  life's  riddle  can  never  be  intellectual,  but  must 
always  be  religious.  After  the  intellect  has  done  its  utmost,  it 
is  baffled;  the  only  solution  is  in  the  mystic  experience  which 
brings  one  face  to  face  with  God  and  teaches  one  to  trust  the 
infinite  Intelligence  and  infinite  Goodness. 

In  the  form  in  which  the  poet  has  cast  his  work  he  also  portrays 
both  the  function  and  the  limits  of  reason  in  religion.  Job  for- 
ever exploded  the  unreal  orthodoxy  of  his  day,  viz.  the  doctrine 
that  goodness  brings  outward  prosperity  and  that  sin  brings 
outward  misfortune.  His  keen  intellect  swept  away  doctrines 
which  had  become  inadequate  explanations  of  the  experiences  of 
life.  The  function  of  reason,  he  thus  taught,  is  to  keep  theology 
in  touch  with  reality  as  in  life's  progress  reality  is  more  clearly 
seen.  In  the  artistically  beautiful  and  religiously  sublime  con- 
clusion to  which  he  brings  the  discussion  in  vs.  5,  6  he  shows  that 
reason  is  inadequate  to  explain  the  world  and  life.  Here  religion 
is  indispensable.  Another  great  lesson  which  he  taught  is  that 
religion,  to  be  of  value,  must  rest,  not  on  faith  in  the  experience  of 
some  one  else,  but'upon  a  first-hand  knowledge  of  God.  Traditional 
religion  is  in  life's  tragic  moments  a  broken  reed  on  which  to  lean. 

7.  These  words.  Perhaps  with  the  versions  cited  we  should 
read,  ''all  these  words."  My  wrath  is  kindled  against  thee. 
Possibly  here  the  versions  quoted  are  right  in  reading,  "thou  hast 
sinned."  Not  spoken  of  me  the  thing  that  is  right  as  my  servant 
Job  hath.     For  "of  me  "  read  with  the  versions,  "before  me." 

It  is  clear  that  these  words  were  not  written  to  follow  the  poem, 
but  that  they  belong  to  the  old  story  that  the  poet  borrowed 

313 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


and  seven  rams,  and  go  to  my  servant  Job,  and  offer 
up  for  yourselves  a  burnt  offering;  and  my  servant 
Job  shall  pray  for  you ;  for  him  will  I  accept,  that  I 
deal  not  with  you  after  your  folly;  for  ye  have  not 
spoken^  of  me  the  thing  that  is  right,  as  my  servant 
9.  Job  hath.  So  Eliphaz  the  Temanite  and  Bildad  the 
Shuhite  and  Zophar  the  ^  Naamathite  went,  and  did 
according  as  the  Lord  commanded  them:  and  the 
10.   Lord   accepted   Job.     And   the   Lord   ^  turned   the 

*  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  omit  of  me.    Syr.  Ar.  before  me.  2  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  Minaan- 

'  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  increased  Job. 


for  the  setting  of  his  great  argument.  A  different  discussion 
must  once  have  preceded  them  —  one  in  which,  perhaps,  the 
friends  had  voiced  sentiments  similar  to  those  expressed  by  Job's 
wife  in  2 :  9  and  Job  had  maintained  throughout  the  tone  of 
1:21  and  2 :  10.  Their  literal  application  to  the  preceding 
discussion  is  inappropriate,  because  the  friends  have  spoken  most 
piously  of  God,  while  Job's  denunciations  of  God's  providence 
have  not  only  been  severe,  but  God  has  himself  declared  (38 :  2) 
that  Job  has  "darkened  counsel  by  words  without  knowledge." 
Probably  the  poet  retained  them,  however,  as  a  conclusion  to  his 
treatment  of  the  subject  because,  while  not  literally  applicable, 
they  were  in  principle  appropriate.  In  his  view  Job's  manly 
criticism  of  God  and  life,  together  with  his  equally  manly  re- 
pentance,—  a  course  which  made  his  religion  real,  —  merited  the 
divine  approval  much  more  than  the  way  in  which  the  friends 
had  maintained  by  shallow  argument,  for  the  sake  of  saving 
themselves,  a  theology  that  had  become  obsolete.  The  poet  antic- 
ipated this  in  what  he  put  into  the  mouth  of  Job  in  13  :  ?>  8. 

8.  A  burnt  offering.  As  in  1:5.  The  story  originated  in 
a  period  when  it  was  still  thought  that  sacrifice  atoned  for  sin. 
Against  this  view  many  prophets  and  psalmists  protested,  cf. 
Amos  5:21,  25;  Isa.  1:11-14;  Ps.  50.  Shall  pray  for  you. 
The  value  of  intercessory  prayer  was  early  appreciated,  cf. 
Abraham's  intercession  for  Sodom,  Gen.  18:  22-23  —  a  passage 
written  by  J^.  Ezekiel,  however,  declares  (Eze.  14 :  14)  that 
neither  Noah,  Daniel,  nor  Job  could  deliver  in  this  way  any  but 
themselves. 

10.  Turned  the  captivity.  A  figurative  expression  for 
"  brought  back  prosperity."     Probably  the  versions  which  read 

314 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB  42 


captivity  of  Job,  when  he  prayed  for  his  friends: 
and  the  Lord  gave  Job  twice  as  much  as  he  had  before. 

11.  Then  came  there  unto  him  all  his  brethren,  and  all 
his  sisters,  and  all  they  that  had  been  of  his  acquaint- 
ance before,  and  ^  did  eat  bread  with  him  in  his 
house :  and  they  bemoaned  him,  and  comforted  him 
concerning  all  the  evil  that  the  Lord  had  brought 
upon  him :    every  man  also  gave  him  a  ^  piece  of 

12.  money,  and  every  one  a  ring  of  gold.  So  the  Lord 
blessed  the  latter  end  of  Job  more  than  his  beginning : 
and  he  had  fourteen  thousand  sheep,  and  six  thousand 
camels,  and  a  thousand  yoke  of  oxen,  and  a  thousand 

13.  she-asses.     He  had  also  ^  seven  sons  and  three  daugh- 

14.  ters.  And  he  called  the  name  of  the  first,  *  Jemimah ; 
and  the  name  of  the  second,  Keziah ;   and  the  name 


1  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  ate  and  drank.        «  Gr.  OLat.  Sah.  a  lamb.    m.  Heb.  kesitah. 
s  Tsiig.  fourteen.        ■*  Gr.  OLat.  Syr.  Sah.  Ar.  Eth.  Yomah. 


"  made  Job  great  "  have  preserved  the  original  reading. 
"  Turned  the  captivity  "  is  an  expression  which  was  probably 
substituted  after  the  Babylonian  exile.  When  he  prayed  for  his 
friends.  The  story  teaches,  perhaps  unconsciously,  that  personal 
prosperity  comes  through  self-forgetfulness.  '  "  He  that  loseth  his 
life  for  my  sake,  shall  find  it,"  Matt.  10 :  39.  Twice  as  much. 
This  story  is  based  on  the  principle  which  the  poet  has  throughout 
combated,  viz.  that  righteousness  brings  earthly  prosperity. 

II.  Piece  of  money.  Margin,  "kesitah"  —  a  monetary 
designation  of  the  early  time,  the  value  of  which  is  unknown, 
cf.  Gen.  33:  19;   Josh.  24:32. 

13.  Seven  sons.  The  Targum,  as  noted  above,  reads  fourteen 
sons,  making  the  number  of  sons  double  (cf.  1:2)  as  well  as  the 
other  possessions,  but  even  the  Targum  keeps  the  number  of  daugh- 
ters as  three.  All  the  other  versions  read  "  seven  sons  "  here, 
and  it  is  probable  that  the  epilogue  did  not  double  the  num- 
ber of  the  children. 

14.  Jemimah.  The  name  apparently  means  "  dove."  The 
versions  mistook  it  for  "  Yomah,"  which  means  "  day." 
Keziah.      The    name    means    "cassia"    and    suggests     "  fra- 

315 


15  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB 


15.  of  the  third,  Keren-happuch.  And  in  all  the  land  were 
no  women  found  so  fair  as  the  daughters  of  Job : 
and  their  father  gave  them  inheritance  among  their 

16.  brethren.  And  after  this  Job  lived  an  hundred  and 
^  forty   years,  ^  and  saw  his  sons,  and  his  sons'  sons, 


1  Gr.  Sah.  Eth.  seventy.  2  Gr.  Ar.  add  and  all  the  days  of  Job  were  two  hundred  and 
forty  years.  Some  Gr.  MSS.  OLat.  Sah.  Eth.  add  and  all  the  days  of  Job  were  two  hun- 
dred and  forty -eight  years. 


grance."  Keren-happuch.  The  name  signifies  "  horn  of  anti- 
mony," i.e.  "  beautifier,"  since  antimony  was  used  by  women  to 
blacken  the  eyes  and  so,  to  Oriental  taste,  to  make  them  more 
beautiful. 

15.  Inheritance  among  their  brethren.  This  was  unusual 
generosity.  Hebrew  law  allowed  daughters  to  inherit  when  there 
were  no  sons  (see  Num.  27:  i-ii),  but  to  give  them  an  inheri- 
tance with  sons  was  unusual. 

16.  An  hundred  and  forty  years.  This  supposes  that  he  was 
seventy  years  old  at  the  time  of  his  trial,  and  that  he  lived  twice 
as  long  as  before,  just  as  he  had  twice  as  many  possessions  as 
before.     The  versions  have  exaggerated  the  number. 

17.  So  Job  died.  With  the  brief  statement  of  this  verse  the 
story  ended.  Reverent  imaginations,  however,  continued  to 
work  upon  it.  The  Greek,  Old  Latin,  Sahidic,  and  Ethiopic 
versions  add,  "  But  it  is  written  that  he  shall  be  raised  with  those 
whom  the  Lord  shall  raise  up." 

Several  of  the  versions  have  also  the  following  statement,  which 
originated  in  Syria,  is  preserved  in  its  shorter  form  in  the  Arabic 
version,  and  was  afterward  added  with  expansions  to  the  Greek, 
Sahidic,  and  Ethiopic.     The  statement  is,  according  to  the  Arabic  : 

"  And  Job  dwelt  in  the  land  of  Uz  on  the  border  of  Edom  and 
Arabia  and  was  before  called  Jobab.  And  he  took  a  foreign  wife 
and  there  was  born  to  him  a  son  whose  name  was  Anun.  And 
Job  was  the  son  of  Zara,  the  grandson  of  Esau ;  and  his  mother 
was  from  Bosrah;  and  he  was  the  sixth  from  Abraham.  And 
of  the  kings  who  ruled  in  Edom  who  were  over  this  land,  he  was 
before  Balak  the  son  of  Beor.  And  the  name  of  the  city  of  this 
man  was  Danaba.  And  after  him,  Jobab ;  he  is  the  one  who  is 
called  Job.  And  afterward  Job  also  was  the  name  of  him  who 
was  prince  of  the  land  of  Teman ;  and  after  him,  the  son  of  Barak. 
This  is  the  one  who  uttered  the  curse  and  fled  to  Midian  in  the 
plain  of  Moab.     And  the  name  of  his  city  was  Gatham.     And 

316 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB  42  :  17 


17.   even  four  generations.     So  Job  died,  being  old  and 
full  of  days. 


as  to  the  friends  of  Job  who  came,  Eliphaz  of  the  sons  of  Esau 
was  king  of  the  Temanites." 

The  Greek,  Sahidic,  and  Ethiopia  versions  differ  from  this  : 
(i)  in  stating  that  it  was  copied  from  a  Syrian  book;  (2)  in  mak- 
ing Job  the  fifth  from  Abraham  instead  of  the  sixth ;  and  (3)  in 
adding  that  Bildad  was  Tyrant  of  the  Shuhites,  and  Zophar,  king 
of  the  Minsans.  The  addition  in  either  form  has  no  historical 
value.  It  but  serves  to  show  that  the  story  of  Job  excited  con- 
tinued interest,  and  that  popular  tradition  busied  itself  in  filling 
out  details  concerning  him.  It  has,  however,  an  interesting 
bearing  upon  the  growth  of  the  legend  of  Job ;  see  notes  on  i :  i ; 
2  :  II ;  and  Introduction,  p.  6. 


317 


INDEX 


Abbreviations,  54. 

Additions  to  Job,  6. 

Analysis,  general,  of  Job,  i ;  detailed, 

46  ff. 
Angels,  81,  83. 
Anum,    said   to   be   name   of   Job's 

wife,  316. 
Aquila,  version  of,  14. 
Arabic  version,  17,  3x7. 
Aramaisms,  25. 
Art  of  the  Book  of  Job,  37. 
Ashtara,  Tell,  s- 
Ashtoreth  Karnaim,  5. 
Ass,  wild,  295. 
Assurbanipal,  3  S. 
Ath-Thalabi  refers  to  Job,  3. 
Author  of  Job,  45. 

B 

Baba  Bathra,  39. 

Babylonian  Creation  Epic,  71,  in, 

219,  289,  290. 
Babylonian  parallel  to  Job,  4  ff. 
Bacher,  W.,  17. 
Balak,  316. 
Barak,  316. 
Bashan,  5. 

Bear,    constellation   of,    no,    294. 
Behemoth,  31  ff.,  303  ff. 
Bibliography,  53. 
Bickell,  G.,  19,  35- 
Bildad,  6,  8,  32,  33  5-,  39,  68,  103  ff., 

164  ff.,  214  ff.,  314. 
Briggs,  C.  A.,  25. 
Budde,  K.,  25,  298. 


Chaldseaas,  6,  62. 
Ciasca,  A.,  16. 


Clemen,  C,  44. 

Communion  with  God,  healing  power 

of,  n  ff. 
Coran,  106. 
Cornill,  C,  25,  26. 
Crocodile,  305  ff. 
Cyprian,  15. 

D 

Daniel,  3. 

Date  of  Job.,  39  ff. 

Deuteronomy,  relation  of,  to  Job,  39. 

Dillmann,  A.,  19. 

Disease,  Job's,  66. 

Disasters,  first  series,  61  ff. ;  second 

series,  66. 
Drama,  Job  not  a,  37. 
Dream  of  Ehphaz,  79  ff. 
Duhm,  B.,  12,  35,  36. 


Eagle,  299  ff. 

Ecclesiastes,  i,  13. 

Ecclesiasticus,  i,  27,  44. 

Editorial  changes  in  Job,  32  5. 

Edom,  6,  316. 

Egypt,  45,  303  ff- 

EUhu,  speeches  of,  22  ff.,  27  ff.,  44  ff., 

248  ff. 
Eliphaz,  5  ff.,  8,  39,  68,  76  ff.,  144  ff-, 

194  ff.,  313,  314  ff- 
Emendation,  conjectural,  18. 
Enoch,  3. 

Epic  of  inner  life,  37. 
Epilogue  not  by  author  of  poem,  i  ff., 

313  ff- 
Esau,  316. 

Es-Suweda,  6,  56,  68. 
Ethiopic  version,   16,  316,  317. 
Exile,  Babylonian,  and  Job,  42. 
Ezekiel's  reference  to  Job,  3. 

319 


INDEX 


Faith  in  God,  9  flf.,  135  flF.,  157  &., 

177. 
Friedlander,  M.,  44. 
Future  life,  faith  in,  10  5.,  141  ff.,  177. 


Genung,  J.  F.,  25,  37. 
Gilgamesh  Epic,  2gi. 
Goats,  wild,  295. 
Greek  versions,  14  £f. 
Grill,  J.,  35. 
Gunkel,  H.,  44. 

H 

Hadrian,  14. 

Hatch,  E.,  19. 

Hawk,  the,  299. 

Hebrew  MSS.  of  Job,  13  ff. 

Hippopotamus,  303  fif. 

Holtzmann,  H.,  44. 

Horse,  the,  298  ff. 


Integrity  of  the  Book  of  Job,  19  ff. 
Interpolations   in   Job,   30   ff.,    225, 

248. 
Irenaeus,  15. 

Isaiah,  the  Second,  and  Job,  40  flf. 
Ishtar's  Descent,  poem  of,  121. 


James,  Epistle  of,  refers  to  Job,  3. 
James,  M.  R.,  6. 
Jastrow,  Morris,  Jr.,  5. 
Jemimah,  315. 
Jeremiah  and  Job,  39  fif. 
Jerome,  St.,  16. 
Jobab,  316. 

K 
Keren-happuch,  316. 
Keziah,  315. 
King,  L.  W.,  Ill,  289. 
Kings,  poem  on,  21,  265,  275. 
Kuenen,  A.,  35,  36. 


Latin,  Old,  version,  15. 
Leviathan,  31  flf.,  71,  305  ff. 
Ley,  J.,  92. 

M 

Macdonald,  D.  B.,  3. 

McFadyen,  J.  E.,  35,  36. 

Main,  61,  68  fif. 

Malachi  and  Job,  43. 

Marshall,  J.  J.,  35,  301. 

Martin,  M.  F.,  5. 

Mazzaroth,  294. 

Midian,  316. 

Minaeans,  6,  317. 

Moab,  316. 

Mohammed,  106;    refers  to  Job,  3. 

Moses,  39. 


N 


Naamathite,  68. 
Naemeh,  5,  56,  68 
Nawa,  5,  55. 
Nichols,  H.  H 


19,  20,  21,  26,  251, 


273- 
Nippur,  4,  5. 
Noah,  3. 


Old  Latin  version,  15. 
Origen,  14,  19. 
Orion,  no,  294. 
Ostrich,  297  ff. 
Ox,  wild,  297. 


Papyrus,  106. 

Papyrus  boats,  114. 

Peake,  A.  S.,  12,  35,  236,  301. 

Pereira,  M.  E.,  16. 

Pleiades,  no,  293. 

Problem  of  the  Book  of  Job,  7  ff. 

Prologue,  55  ff. ;    not  by  author  of 

poem,  I  fE. 
Proverbs,  a  wisdom  book,   i ;    rela- 
tion of,  to  Job,  43  flf. 
Psalms  and  Job,  42,  43. 
320 


INDEX 


Rahab,   71,   218,   303,  305. 
Rain  storm,  psalm  of,  20  ff.,  285. 


Saadia  Gaon,  17. 

Saba,  61. 

Sabaeans,  6,  61. 

Sahidic  version,  16,  21,  32   ff.,  316, 

317. 
Satan,  43,  59  ff.,  64  ff. 
Schiirer,  E.,  14. 
Septuagint,  14,  316,  317;    omissions 

of,  19  ff.,  32. 
Shalmeneser  II,  55. 
Sheba,  95. 

Shooting  at  a  mark,  156. 
Shuah,  68. 
Shuhite,  68. 
Shuhites,  317. 
Shuhu,  6. 
Siegfried,  C,  44. 
Sirach,  son  of,  i,  44. 
Solomon,  wisdom  of,  i. 
Solution  of  problem  of  suffering,  12, 

312  ff. 
Soul,  growth  of,  9  ff. 
Stars,  morning,  289. 
Stuhlmann,  M.,  36. 
Suffering,  Job's,  9  ff. 
Suhu,  68. 
Swete,  H.  B.,  15. 
Symmachus,  version  of,  15. 
Syriac   version,    16;     place   of    Job 

in,  39- 

T 
Tabi-utul-Bel,  a  Babylonian  Job,  4. 
Targum,  17. 
Tema,  5,  56,  68. 


Teman,  6,  68,  95,  316. 
Text  of  Job,  13  ff. 
Theodore  of  Mopsuestia,  3,  16. 
Theodotion,  version  of,  15. 
Thompson,  R.  C,  4,  5. 
Thompson,  W.  M.,  75. 
Thothmes,  IV,  156. 
Tiamat,  71,  loi,  219,  305. 
Tiglathpileser  I,  297. 
Treasure,  digging  for,  75. 


U 


Uz,  5,  55  ff.,  316. 


Versions,   grouping  of,    17;     defects 

of,  17  ff. 
Vulgate,  Latin,  16. 

W 

Wail,  Job's,  69. 

Weber,  O.,  s- 

Wife,  Job's  speech  of,  according  to 

the    versions,    67. 
Wild  ass,  296. 
Wild  goat,  295. 
Wild  ox,  297. 
Wildeboer,  G.,  25. 
Wisdom  literature,  i. 
Wisdom  of  Solomon,  i. 
Wisdom,  praise  of,  30,  225. 
Wright,  G.  B.  H.,  298. 


Zimmern,  H.,  5. 

Zophar,  6,  8,  30,  35,  39,  68,  121  ff., 

179  ff.,  314,  317;   third  speech  of, 

36  ff.,  221  ff. 


321 


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Jacobs,   Lutheran   Theological  Se?ninary,  Mount  Airy,  Philadelphia, 

"  This  book  is  no  bigger  than  a  good  sized  Bible,  but  in  it  the  whole 
Bible  is  expounded.  This  is  what  families  and  Sunday-school  teachers 
have  long  been  waiting  for.  The  other  commentaries  are  in  too 
many  volumes  and  cost  too  much  to  get  into  the  ordinary  domestic 
library.  But  this  fits  any  shelf.  The  explanations  clear  away  the 
difficulties  and  illuminate  the  text.  They  make  it  possible  for  anybody 
to  read  even  the  prophets  with  understanding.  The  critical  exposi- 
tions are  uniformly  conservative,  but  the  best  scholarship  is  brought 
to  them.  This  is  what  devout  and  careful  scholars  believe.  To  bring 
all  this  into  moderate  compass  and  under  a  reasonable  price  is  a 
notable  accomplishment." — Dr.  George  Hodges,  Dean  of  the  Episcopal 
Theological  School,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

"An  astonishing  amount  of  information  has  been  compressed  into 
these  pages,  and  it  will  be  difficult  to  find  another  book  anything 
near  this  in  size  which  will  be  as  helpful  to  the  general  reader  as 
this.  Sunday-school  teachers,  Bible  students.  Christian  Endeavorers, 
and  all  that  are  interested  in  the  study  of  the  Word  of  God  will  find 
here  a  store  of  helpful  suggestions."  —  Christian  Endeavor  World. 


PUBLISHED    BY 

THE    MACMILLAN    COMPANY 

64-66  Fifth  Avenue,  New  Tork 


BS491.B5818        ,     ,     ,  ,  ^ 
Commentary  on  the  book  of  Job. 


Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


00006 


